















H 







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COPYRIGHT DEPOSrr. 



JOINT COMMITTEE ON RURAL 
SCHOOLS 

State Grange 

G. W. DUNN MRS. F. GATES 

G. C. McNINCH 

Department of Education 

F. B. GILBERT R. P. SNYDER 

G. M. WILEY 

Dairymen's League 

E. R. EASTMAN, Secretary ALBERT MANNING 

N. F. WEBB 

Farm Bureau Federation 
h. c. Mckenzie, vice-chairman w. g. Mcintosh 

C. S. POST H. G. REED 

State College of Agriculture 

J. E. BUTTERWORTH P. J. KRUSE 

G. A. WORKS, Chairman 
Home Bureau Federation 

MRS. M. E. ARMSTRONG MRS. A. E. BRIGDEN 

MRS. EDWARD YOUNG 



Stale Teachers' Association 

J. D. JONES MYRTLE E. MacDONALD 

W. E. PIERCE 



Committee on Direction 

G. A. WORKS, Director 
MRS. A. E. BRIGDEN, Assistant Director 
G. M. WILEY, Assistant Director 



RURAL SCHOOL SURVEY 
of NEW YORK STATE 

A REPORT TO THE RURAL 
SCHOOL PATRONS 



By 

THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON 
RURAL SCHOOLS 

George A. Works, Chairman 



Ithaca, New York 
1922 






3-57 



Copyright, 1922, by 
George A. Works 



WM-F-FELL CO -PRINTERS 
PHILADELPHIA 

JUL -6 1922 



JW.7 

©CI.A677425 



FOREWORD 

THIS summary of the New York State Rural School Survey 
is based on reports and recommendations that were made to 
the Joint Committee on Rural Schools by its survey staff. 
The directors of the six sections were asked to submit to the com- 
mittee a statement of their most important findings, together with 
such recommendations as they deemed wise. These materials 
received careful consideration in the committee, and this volume 
contains such phases of the study as, in the judgment of the com- 
mittee, would be of most assistance to the people of the state in 
arriving at decisions on the important problems affecting the rural 
schools. In addition, the committee has included such suggestions 
as it believes will help improve some of the conditions that were 
found. The committee does not believe that its recommendations 
are the final word. 

In arriving at decisions on many of the questions involved, it 
has been assisted by the reactions of the rural school patrons at 
public meetings held in various sections of the state. The ques- 
tionnaires which were submitted through the farm organizations 
were also of assistance. This volume is the result of the work of 
the survey staff, the reactions of rural school patrons, and the 
study by the committee of the numerous and complex problems 
involved. It is your committee's report to you. The committee 
invites constructive criticism. 

Those persons who are interested in securing more complete data 
than are presented in this report, or who desire the reports of the 
directors of the various sections as they were made to the com- 
mittee, will find at the end of this summary volume a complete 
list of the volumes published. 

Note to the Reader 

Not all school patrons who have access to this report will have the 
time to read it in its entirety. Different individuals will be inter- 
ested in different phases of the study, and in order to meet the needs 

5 



of all as fully as possible this fairly complete statement of conditions 
in the state has been prepared. In the judgment of the committee 
the most fundamental questions involved are: 

1. Optional Consolidation of Schools. 

2. A Better Prepared Teaching Personnel. 

3. Equitable Distribution or the Burden of School Sup- 
port. 

4. A Larger Unit of Local Administration and Taxation. 

These subjects should have serious consideration. They are 
discussed in Chapters IV, XII, and XIII. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAP. PAGE 

Foreword 5 

Lists of Illustrations and Diagrams 8 

I. Summary of Recommendations 13 

II. The Work of the Joint Committee 23 

III. Organization of the Survey 28 

IV. The Rural School Teachers 37 

V. Curriculum of the Elementary Rural School 74 

VI. The Rural High School 87 

VII. The New York State System of Examinations as Related to 

the Rural School 106 

VIII. Rural School Buildings 127 

IX. The Educational Product 146 

X. Further Evddence on the Work of the Schools 171 

XI. Community Relations 177 

XII. Administration and Supervision 188 

XIII. School Support 212 

XIV. Reactions of Rural School Patrons 256 

APPENDIX 
Illiterates in New York State (1920 Census). Distribution 
by Counties under City, Village, and District Superin- 
tendents of Schools 269 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FACING 

PAGE 

What one community did through community cooperation 130 

What No. 11, Galway, Saratoga County, did 136 

Evidence of community pride in its school. Canandaigua No. 9, Ontario Co. 142 
One type of recently constructed village school building. Consolidated 

school at Orchard Park, Erie Co 142 

An illustration of a poor building in a small village 144 



LIST OF DIAGRAMS 

DIAGRAM PAGE 

1. Teaching experience of teachers in different types of New York schools . 43 

2. Normal school education of teachers in different types of New York 

schools 53 

3. Showing the percent of those Regents examination papers written 

which were claimed by schools (solid line) and the percent which were 
accepted by the Regents (dash line) for four academic subjects, by 
years 115 

4. Showing the percent of those Regents examination papers written 

which were accepted in 12 academic subjects for the year 1920 117 

5. Showing the percent of those Regents examination papers written which 

were accepted in each of two academic subjects for each of three 
years 118 

6. Proportion that glass area is of floor space in one- and two-teacher 

schools. The standard is at least 1:5 130 

7. Window placement in one- and two-teacher schools. Light from one 

side is the standard 130 

8. Types of heating apparatus in one- and two-teacher schools 132 

9. Drinking facilities and towels in one- and two-teacher schools 133 

10. Percentage of one- and two-teacher schools having proper adjustment 

of seats, desks, and distance between seats and desks 135 

11. Kinds of toilets in one- and two-teacher schools 138 

12. Reading examination, Sigma 3, grades 5-8 153 

13. Reading examination, Sigma 3, grades 9-12 155 

14. Reading examination, Sigma 1, grades 1-4 158 

15. History — information. Showing median achievement in grade 8, one- 

and four-teacher schools, of New York rural schools, and median 

achievement of grades 7 and 8 in New York city schools 161 

8 



DIAGRAM PAGE 

16. History — thought. Showing median achievement in grade 8, one- and 

four-teacher schools, of New York rural schools, and median achieve- 
ment of grades 7 and 8 in New York city schools 161 

17. Reading examination, Sigma 3 168 

18. Showing percentage of employed boys sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen 

years of age, on farms and in the various urban centers, who had 
completed the eighth grade before leaving school 174 

19. Equalized tax-rate for the first supervisory districts of Delaware, Mon- 

roe, and Tompkins Counties. Tax-rate equal to or greater than 
amounts shown 223 

20. Median equalized tax-rate and median equalized valuation per teacher 

for the first supervisory districts of Delaware, Monroe, and Tompkins 
Counties for the year ending July 31, 1920 224 

21. Percent of schools by average daily attendance for Tompkins, Monroe, 

and Delaware Counties 227 

22. Relationship between average daily attendance per teacher and equal- 

ized valuations per teacher in common school districts in Delaware, 
Monroe, and Tompkins, for the year ending July 31, 1920 231 

23. Percent of schools by equalized valuation per teacher for common school 

districts and Union free school districts and cities and villages under 
superintendents, for the year ending July 31, 1920 233 



LIST OF TABLES 

TABLE PAGE 

1. Distribution by counties of the rural school teachers sending in returns 

to the questionnaire 39 

2. Age of teachers in the different types of schools 43 

3. Teaching experience of teachers in different types of New York schools 45 

4. Occupations of fathers of teachers in different types of schools 47 

5. High school training of teachers in different types of schools 51 

6. Normal school training of teachers in different types of schools 52 

7. Proportion of teachers holding elementary normal school diplomas. . . 53 

8. Salaries of teachers in different types of schools 61 

9. Percent of teachers reporting that they support as total dependents ... 63 

10. Percent of teachers reporting that they help to support as partial 

dependents 63 

11. A study of enrolment by years of the pupils in the rural high schools as 

compared with the pupil enrolment in certain eastern states and with 
the United States as a whole. The distribution in each year is shown 
on the basis of a total high school enrolment of 100 pupils 88 

12. The number of graduates for each 100 pupils entering high school. ... 89 

13. A study of the relative percentage of boys and girls in the different years 

of the rural high school (403 schools) 89 

14. Percentage of pupils' time given to various subjects throughout the 

rural high school course 101 

15. Showing the growth and present magnitude of the academic examina- 

tions Ill 

16. Showing percent of pupils repeating at least one course 120 

17. Estimated cost of suggested improvements 140 

18. Reading examination, Sigma 3. One- and four-teacher elementary 

schools. "Four-teacher schools" include all schools with four and 
more teachers. Median scores and median ages for grades 5 to 8. . 152 

19. Reading examination, Sigma 3. Small and large high schools. "Large" 

high schools means having four or more teachers. All others are 
"small." Median scores and median ages for grades 9 to 12 155 

20. Reading examination, Sigma 1. One- and four-teacher schools. Four- 

teacher schools include all larger schools. Median scores and median 
ages for grades 1 to 4 157 

21. History information and thought questions, grade 8. Median 

scores for one- and four-teacher schools, also standard norms for 
grades 7 and 8 161 

22. Arithmetic: Addition and multiplication. Median scores for rural 

schools and standard comparative scores 163 

23. Arithmetical reasoning: Exercise 2 of intelligence examination, delta 2. 

One- and four-room schools, grades 3 to 8. Median scores by grades. 
Standard scores by grades 164 



TABLE PAGE 

24. Algebra, Hotz: Addition and subtraction tests and equation and for- 

mula tests. Median scores for pupils studying eight months 165 

25. Henmon latin test. First year high school pupils who have studied 

latin one school year. Median scores for vocabulary and sentence 
tests; also standard scores 167 

26. Reading examination, Sigma 3. Median scores by ages for all pupils 

tested in one-teacher schools and in the larger schools. In the latter 
are included the pupils of these ages found in high schools in the dis- 
tricts examined 168 

27. Showing percentage of pupils making normal progress, failing to make 

normal progress, and making progress more rapidly than normal .... 172 

28. Showing percentage of pupils delayed one or more years in their prog- 

ress through the elementary school 173 

29. Showing percentage of employed boys that had completed the eighth 

grade before leaving school 174 

30. Showing median grade completed by boys from communities of varying 

size 175 

31. Showing varying lengths of time required for employed boys to com- 

plete a grade in school 175 

32. Sixteen-, seventeen-, and eighteen-year-old employed boys, last grade 

completed. Percent of boys reporting each grade as the last one 
completed. Summary for New York state 176 

33. Total amount expended per pupil in common and union free school dis- 

tricts and cities and villages under superintendents 215 

34. Medians for costs per pupil in dollars in cities, villages, union free 

schools, and common school districts, year ending July 31, 1920. . . . 216 

35. Relationship of cost per pupil, cost per teacher, average daily atten- 

dance. Delaware No. 1. Year ending July 31, 1920 217 

36. Showing number of schools with average daily of one to ten pupils. ... 218 

37. Equalized tax-rate for the first supervisory districts of Delaware, Mon- 

roe, and Tompkins counties. Common schools, year ending July 31, 
1920 222 

38. Equalized valuation per teacher for the first supervisory districts of 

Delaware, Monroe, and Tompkins counties. Year ending July 31, 
1920 (Common Schools) 229 

39. Equalized valuation per teacher for common school and union free 

school districts and cities and villages under superintendents. Year 
ending July 31, 1920 232 

40. Equalized tax-rate and equalized valuation per teacher in the following 

supervisory districts: Delaware No. 1, Monroe No. 1, Tompkins No. 

1. Year ending July 31, 1920 235 

41. Correlation between amount of state aid on basis of assessed valuation 

and equalized millage per teacher, Delaware No. 1, Monroe No. 1, 
Tompkins No. 1. Year ending July 31, 1920 242 

42. Amounts one-teacher districts of varying valuations would have to 

raise by local tax, and the tax-rates under state aid in 1920 and 1921, 
assuming cost to be $900 per teacher 244 

43. Comparison of tax-rates in community districts. (1) With schools as 

now organized and present aid; (2) with schools as organized and 
proposed revised aid; (3) with reorganized community schools and 
proposed revised state aid; (a) Current expenses only; (b) current 
expense, new buildings, and transportation equipment 253 

44. Foreign-born whites in New York state 270 

45. Illiterate adults in New York state 271 



RURAL SCHOOL SURVEY of 
NEW YORK STATE 

CHAPTER I 
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 

THIS chapter is a brief presentation of the principal recom- 
mendations of the committee. They are not complete. For 
a concise statement of the data and reasons on which they 
are based the reader is referred to the several chapters of this report. 

Administration and Supervision 

1. The committee recommends that the community be made the 
unit of local administration. In the formation of this new unit the 
present district should continue and their boundaries remain as they 
are unless changed by a vote of the districts. (See p. 198.) 

2. The board of education of the community unit should be 
constituted as follows: 

(a) Each common school district and each union free school dis- 
trict without an academic department to have one member. 

(b) A union free school district (or districts) with an academic de- 
partment may determine the number of its representatives, 
not to exceed the number from the outlying districts in the 
unit. 

(c) This large board may delegate certain functions to a smaller 
group. 

(d) The community unit may adopt, by a majority vote, both of 
districts and of the people, one of the following organizations 
in lieu of the above: 

I. Small board with equal number from country and union 
free school district or districts with academic departments. 
II. Small board elected at large. 
13 



3. The repeal of the compulsory feature of the consolidation law 
is recommended. 

4. Each community unit should make provision for four years 
of high school instruction, either within or without its bounds, 
and for transportation or suitable substitute wherever necessary, 
except when exempted by the intermediate board because of im- 
practicability. 

5. Community boundaries are to be determined by a commission 
of five appointed by the County Board of Supervisors from among 
those living under the rural education law. 

6. There should also be a state commission, consisting of the 
Commissioner of Education and two members living under the 
rural education law, appointed by the Governor, to act as a board 
of appeal on boundary questions. 

7. There should be a board for each supervisory district, 1 com- 
posed of one member from each community district, elected by the 
community board from its membership. (See p. 201.) 

8. District superintendent shall be the professional officer of this 
board. 

9. The State Commission on Community Boundaries shall de- 
termine the groupings of the community units into supervisory 
units, making provision for 208 of these units until 1926. After 
that date they shall determine the number of intermediate units 1 for 
the state. 

10. The community board is to perform most of the functions in 
school control. Only where the welfare of the schools demands that 
larger groups act together is this power curtailed. The intermedi- 
ate board serves the general function of keeping school control 
nearer the people by enabling them to solve many problems that 
now must, because of the organization, go to the state. The dis- 
trict superintendent becomes primarily the representative of the 
communities, not of the state. 

11. The committee believes that the magnitude of rural educa- 
tion problems in the state makes it very important that the State 
Department of Education be provided with as effective an organi- 
zation as possible for handling them. To this end it suggests that 

1 Supervisory district and intermediate unit are used interchangeably. 

14 



some arrangement be made within the State Department of Educa- 
tion by which original jurisdiction over elementary and secondary 
education and the training of rural school teachers be placed in the 
hands of some person directly responsible to the Commissioner of 
Education. The committee is of the opinion that this end would 
be best attained by an Assistant Commissioner of Rural Education, 
but if the Board of Regents can devise a more effective method, it 
would be regarded as acceptable. 

School Support 

1. The community unit shall be the unit of local taxation for 
school purposes. 

General Aid 

2. In providing for the general support of schools on the part of 
the state recognition should be given to : 

(a) The ability of communities to provide school facilities. 

(b) The willingness of communities to provide school facilities. 

As a means of attaining these ends it is recommended that 
state aid be distributed according to the formula ($290,000- V) 
M X T X .626, for districts below the median 1 valuation. 
(In this formula V stands for equalized valuation, expressed 
in thousands of dollars, M for the equalized tax-rate in mills, 
and T for the number of teachers in the unit.) 

In the application of this formula every community below 
the median shall receive at least $48 per teacher. 

In the application of this formula the maximum amount 
of general aid to be granted by the state shall not exceed the 
amount obtained when the number of mills reaches 10. 

In districts above the median equalized valuation the fol- 
lowing arbitrary grants shall be made: 

Equalized Valuation per Teacher 

Less than $300,000 $48 

$300,000-399,000 40 

$400,000-499,000 32 

$500,000-599,000 ' 24 

$600,000-699,000 16 

$700,000-799,000 8 

1 Average. 

IS 



3. No school shall be entitled to the full amount of aid provided 
for under this plan unless it has an average daily attendance of 
eight pupils. Any school that falls below this number shall be 
granted only such proportion of its allotment as its average daily 
attendance bears to the standard denominator eight. Thus a 
school with an average daily attendance of five would receive only 
^i of the allotment which it would receive had it the full quota of 
eight. The board of education of the intermediate unit should 
have the authority to waive the application of this rule in those 
schools which, in its judgment, should, under present circum- 
stances, as regards condition of roads, distance, etc., be retained 
as separate schools in order to promote the best interests of pupils 
attending them. This privilege should also apply in cases in which 
weather conditions, epidemics, etc., interfere with school attend- 
ance. All cases of exemption shall be approved by the State De- 
partment of Education. 

4. The quota for high school teachers should be $400 greater 
than that for elementary school teachers in all districts having an 
equalized valuation of less than $350,000 per teacher. 

Special Aid 

5. Aid shall be granted for the erection of schoolhouses and 
teacherages on the following basis: 

Districts having an equalized valuation per teacher of less than — 



tt It It 



tt a tt 



$50,000 30 percent of cost of building and equipment 

50,000-$99,000 25 

100,000-149,000 20 

150,000-199,000 15 

200,000-249,000 10 

250,000-299,000 5 

300,000-over 

These buildings are to be erected in accordance with plans ap- 
proved by the State Department of Education. 

6. A similar form of aid should be granted to districts for the 
making of major improvements to buildings, such as would be 
considered outlays within the rules of the State Department of 
Education, and in amount according to the plan proposed above. 

16 



7. In order to assist districts in bearing the expenses of trans- 
portation it is recommended that for each $1200 of transportation 
expense, the number of teachers used in determining the amount of 
aid should be increased by one. If a school had six teachers and a 
transportation expense of $1200, it would be considered as having 
seven teachers in the multiplication of the four factors used in 
determining amount of aid, but not in determining the equalized 
valuation per teacher. In case of an expenditure of less than $1200 
the expense should be pro-rated on the basis of $1200. 

8. To induce competent teachers to go into the one-teacher 
schools a direct grant of $20 per month should be made to a teacher 
who teaches in a one-teacher school and who belongs to either one 
of the following groups : 

(a) A normal school graduate or equivalent with three years of 
teaching experience. 

(b) A graduate of one of the rural teacher training departments 
of the normal school, as provided for in the section on pre- 
paration of teachers. (See p. 69.) 

9. In order to discourage the appointment of teachers of inferior 
qualifications, it is recommended that a graduated series of deduc- 
tions from the state aid be devised so that for each teacher of inferior 
qualifications that is appointed the apportionment will be reduced 
by $100; the second time the same teacher is appointed the deduc- 
tion should be $200, and so on. 

10. It is recommended that there be state aid to the intermediate 
unit to the extent of two-thirds the salary of the superintendent, 
and of his assistants up to certain maximum amounts to be fixed by 
law and regulation of the State Department of Education. 

Bonded Indebtedness 

11. It is impossible to devise a plan for taking care of the bonded 
indebtedness that will be perfectly fair to every situation that exists 
in the state. It seems best, since all the school property within the 
community unit becomes the property of the community, that the 
community assume the bonded indebtedness. The committee 
believes that, as a means of adjusting the situation, where bonds 
are outstanding on buildings completed in the last five years, the 

2 17 



community unit should receive aid from the state in accordance 
with the suggested state aid for new buildings. 

Training of Teachers and Supervisors 

1. There should be developed a strong rural school department or 
division in each of the existing state normal schools, these depart- 
ments to be established as rapidly as the demand for those seek- 
ing training will warrant and as fast as they can be properly 
organized. These departments should be in charge of directors 
who are specialists in the preparation of rural school teachers. 
Associated with each director there should be a staff of instructors, 
for the appointment of whom familiarity with rural school and rural 
life conditions should be an important qualification. The curric- 
ulum for the preparation of rural school teachers should be dis- 
tinct and separate from the normal school curricula designed for 
urban teachers, and, although some of the work may well be done 
in the same classes, the rural school group should have its own 
quarters, its own organization, and the fullest opportunity to de- 
velop a thoroughgoing professional zeal and purpose. Closely asso- 
ciated with each rural school department there should be a group of 
neighboring rural schools. These should form the chief "labora- 
tory" of the rural school department. The teachers of these out- 
lying schools should have demonstrated their ability to do expertly 
well the work that the rural school involves. They should be paid 
in part by the state and should have recognition as members of 
the normal school staff. At the same time they should be thor- 
oughly acceptable as teachers to the local communities in which 
their schools are located. 

2. To make possible a selection of the best available talent, and 
to keep the teaching positions in the rural schools open to young 
people from the open-country homes that have heretofore supplied 
the teachers of the one-teacher schools, a system of state scholarships 
should be provided. These should be open only to high school 
graduates who rank with the upper half or two-thirds of their high 
school classes. In addition, the most scientific means possible 
should be used in determining their adaptability to teaching. 
Besides these personal and educational qualifications, they must 

18 



have lived for at least two years in a rural community as defined 
by the Federal census. Such scholarships should provide tuition 
while attending an approved course, and an allowance of $200 
per year while away from home. The acceptance of a scholarship 
should be in the form of a pledge to serve, following graduation, 
for at least three years in the rural schools of the state. In case 
the holder of a university scholarship obtains a teaching scholar- 
ship, he shall be entitled to both if in attendance at any institution 
offering a course approved for the training of rural school teachers. 

3. In order to provide opportunities for continuous growth upon 
the part of rural school teachers, the rural school departments of 
the normal schools should organize Saturday classes at convenient 
centers, and should also provide summer courses. This work 
should be designed still further to improve the teachers in the work 
of rural education, and the successful completion of such courses 
should qualify the teacher for salary advances, as is now the policy 
in progressive city school systems. 

4. Provision should also be made in competent state institutions 
for special courses for supervisory officers, to the end that these 
officers may be qualified to provide competent help for teachers in 
service. 

5. It is suggested that after 1927 no new teachers shall be ad- 
mitted to service in the elementary rural schools who have not 
completed a course in one of the state normal schools or the equiva- 
lent, such courses to be specifically designed to prepare for service 
in the rural schools. 

6. During the period that it is necessary for high school training 
classes to be maintained it is proposed that the expense of such 
classes be borne by the state. This will necessitate complete con- 
trol of the location, selection of teachers, and work done in these 
classes by the State Department of Education. 

7. A special division of the State Department of Education should 
be organized to have, among other functions, administrative charge 
of the education of rural school teachers. This division should 
supervise the rural training departments of the state normal schools, 
both as to the preparation that they provide for prospective rural 
teachers and as to the extension and summer courses that they offer 

19 



to teachers in service. It should be particularly charged with respon- 
sibility for keeping the work of these departments close to the rural 
school problem. 

Courses of Study for the Elementary Schools 

1. New courses of study should be prepared for the rural schools. 
The present courses are largely out of date and not suited to rural 
school conditions and needs. In preparation of the new courses 
these weaknesses should be avoided, and they should be prepared in 
keeping with modern standards, modern principles, and modern 
practices. It is suggested that special attention be given to reading. 

2. The present system of examinations should be changed to 
accord with modern standards in content and method, and to per- 
mit and foster the development of local initiative. 

3. In the formulation of the new courses of study provision 
should be made for freely drawing on the experience of those in 
teaching and supervisory positions in the schools. 

4. Provision should be made for keeping the courses up to date, 
and in accord with the results of research and experience. 

5. Education is to produce specific changes in individual pupils. 
The curriculum is a means to that end. What these changes are 
vary with the individual and the community. The content of the 
courses of study and the method of procedure will vary more or less 
in different schools in the state. Common courses for all schools, 
whether in country or city, evidently will not be best for both. 

Regents Examinations 

1. The responsibility for the determination of the examinations 
to be used and the certification of pupils should rest with local 
school authorities, under the general supervision of the professional 
officer of the intermediate unit. This recommendation is made 
with the understanding that it will not go into effect until the 
minimum standards for entrance to the teaching service become 
operative, and until the reorganization of the intermediate unit is 
accomplished. 

2. The State Department of Education should provide a staff 
with service and research functions in the field of educational 



measurement more nearly adequate, to cooperate with local and 
intermediate rural school officers. 

School Buildings 

1. Each community should study earnestly its school building 
situation, to the end that wherever necessary better provision may 
be made because the community believes improvement necessary. 

2. In order that children may not suffer because of the neglect 
of apathetic communities, the present law dealing with minimum 
standards should be made more clear, the standards should be 
raised to comply more nearly with modern hygienic requirements, 
and the standards should be made applicable, after a specified 
period, to all schoolhouses in the state. 

3. The state should give financial assistance to those communi- 
ties that cannot meet the minimum standards without undue effort 
and also grant a bonus to those that exceed these standards. (See 

PP" High Schools 

1. The purposes or objectives of rural secondary education 
should be defined as clearly and specifically as possible. As a 
means of assisting in this work it would be desirable for those 
responsible for the administration of the high schools on the part 
of the state to utilize the services of an advisory committee com- 
posed of lay and professional people. 

2. When the objectives are defined, it would seem desirable to 
revise the curricula in the light of them. Problems deserving 
consideration are the status of the foreign languages, general 
science, intermediate algebra, advanced algebra, trigonometry, and 
vocational guidance. 

3. It is generally admitted that efficient home making is of basic 
importance in the welfare of the home and of good citizenship. 
For this reason, and the further fact that a large percentage of the 
girls who attend high school will follow the vocation of home mak- 
ing, it is recommended that the desirability of establishing courses 
in home making in every rural high school in the state receive con- 
sideration. It is suggested that such courses be so enriched and 
broadened as to meet in the fullest possible manner the home and 
community needs. Students should be encouraged to take such 



courses and they should receive credit on the same basis as academic 
subjects. Emphasis should be given to the problem of getting 
colleges to accept work in this subject toward admission. 

4. The problems of teacher training for the rural high schools and 
of certification of teachers should receive further consideration. 

5. The organization of junior high schools as the first unit in 
secondary education in the rural communities should be encouraged. 
As a means to this end it is recommended that the state aid granted 
for teachers in these schools should be on the same basis as for 
regular high schools. 

Community Relations 

1. Because school work in the main is limited to routine class- 
room activity, greater attention should be given to providing, as a 
part of school work, additional extra-curricular activities, such as 
entertainments, school fairs, exhibits, and plays. 

2. In every rural district of the state there should be developed 
a live interest of adults for the advancement of education. This in- 
terest may either take the form of separate organizations for school 
betterment, as parent-teacher associations and school improve- 
ment leagues, or be focused in the work of a special education 
committee under some organization not exclusively educational, 
as the grange or farm and home bureau. 

3. The curricula for the preparation of rural teachers, principals, 
and district superintendents should provide suitable prepara- 
tion for this phase of school work. The nature of this work is such 
that preparation for it cannot be accomplished by a few additions 
to a training course. To be efficient here, demands attention to 
the problem throughout the course. 

4. In view of the larger responsibility of the district superintend- 
ent for the leadership of rural folk it is advised that personal quali- 
fications for such service, other than professional preparation, be 
taken into consideration in his selection. 

5. In order that the above activities may be more fully realized 
provision should be made for this work: 

(a) In providing school buildings and equipment. 

(b) In the type of service rendered by the State Department of 

Education to the school forces of the state. 



CHAPTER II 
THE WORK OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE 

Origin of the Survey 

TO UNDERSTAND the origin of this study it is necessary to 
have in mind an outline of the rural school situation in New 
York state. The district system of schools was established 
in the state by legislative enactment in 1812. It has been the 
agency for the conduct of local administrative functions relating to 
the school from that time on, except for an interval of one year. 
In this interim the township system was in operation. The legisla- 
tion providing for this change came without adequate preparation 
of the people for what it meant. This fact, combined with a num- 
ber of other complicating factors, such as rapidly mounting school 
costs, a compulsory physical education act, and weaknesses in the 
law itself, aroused so much antagonism that the result was the 
speedy repeal indicated. 

There were progressive farmers in the state who realized that the 
district organization was not able to cope with the modern demands 
for education. The views of these men and women became evident 
during the 1920 Farmers' Week at the New York State College 
of Agriculture. It has been customary for the Department of 
Rural Education to conduct conferences dealing with rural school 
questions during Farmers' Week. These conferences have given 
primary consideration to those phases of rural education that were 
of concern to the school patron. In 1920 the theme that ran 
throughout the conference was, "What can be done for the im- 
provement of rural schools in New York State?" Rural school 
patrons, teachers, and superintendents participated in these dis- 
cussions. The last afternoon was given to an address by Dr. John 
H. Finley, then Commissioner of Education, and to a forum dis- 

23 



cussion of the rural school situation. Toward the close of this 
session a resolution was passed calling for a study of the various 
problems involved. 

Since this was an informal conference, it is doubtful if any 
material result would have come from this resolution. The follow- 
ing day a similar resolution was passed by the Conference Board of 
Farm Organizations. This board is made up of the executive com- 
mittees of the following organizations: State Grange, State Farm 
Bureau Federation, Dairymen's League, and the state horticultural 
societies. In this action concrete evidence was furnished of what 
New York state has witnessed several times in recent years, the 
value of organization as a means of putting the farm people in posi- 
tion to make their influence felt. The passing of the resolution by 
this group gave the movement a status that would have been im- 
possible otherwise for it to obtain without a large expenditure of 
time and energy. 

There were some minor differences between the resolution passed 
by the Conference Board of Farm Organizations and the Rural Ed- 
ucation conference. When these differences were adjusted, the res- 
olution was transmitted to each organization that was asked to par- 
ticipate. Each responded by the appointment of three members, as 
was suggested in the resolution. The result was a committee con- 
sisting of representatives from the Dairymen's League, State 
Grange, State Home Bureau Federation, State Farm Bureau Feder- 
ation, Department of Rural Education of the New York State 
College of Agriculture, State Teachers' Association, and the State 
Department of Education. Each of these organizations determined 
in its own way the method of selecting its representatives. Further- 
more, the organizations bore the expenses of their representatives in 
attending the meetings. The result was that each group entered the 
committee without obligations to any one except its organization, 
in its endeavors to get at the facts with reference to rural school 
conditions in the state. 

Principles that Guided the Committee 
At its first meeting the committee laid down the following prin- 
ciples, which have guided its action: 

24 



1. It determined that it would make such suggestions as it finally 
offered on the basis of facts so far as it was practicable for it to ob- 
tain them. It was evident to every member of the committee that 
there was no other safe way to proceed. 

2. The committee was also in accord upon the importance of ob- 
taining from rural school patrons their suggestions regarding prob- 
lems that needed consideration and their judgment as to how these 
could most wisely be met. 

3. There was complete agreement on the importance of giving 
to the public the largest possible opportunity to discuss the find- 
ings and recommendations of the committee. 

Source of Funds 
At the time of its organization the committee was without funds 
for its work, except that the various organizations were paying the 
expenses of their representatives when in attendance at committee 
meetings. Later the directors of the Commonwealth Fund of New 
York city made available a sum of money for the expenses of the 
actual conduct of the survey. The possibility of funds being made 
available from this source was due to action that had been taken 
by George M. Wiley, Assistant Commissioner for Elementary Ed- 
ucation. Independently of the organization of the committee 
Dr. Wiley had approached the directors of the fund with the idea of 
interesting them in a study of the rural schools of the state. When 
the committee organized, there was no certainty of financial assist- 
ance from this source. Later, as has been indicated, funds were 
placed at the disposal of the Board of Regents for the survey. As 
the State Department of Education was represented on the com- 
mittee, arrangements were made by which "the responsibility for 
determining the direction and scope of the survey" was placed with 
the committee. At that time the director and his assistants were 
chosen. 

Reactions of Patrons 

A division of the survey was organized specifically to secure reac- 
tions from rural school patrons on rural school problems. The 
director of this section prepared and distributed among groups of 
rural people a pamphlet containing questions that the directors of 

25 



other sections were desirous of having discussed by lay groups. 
Thousands of these were submitted to groups over the state. Those 
receiving them were invited to discuss the suggested questions and 
such others as they felt to be of importance. The pamphlets were 
so organized that suggestions could easily be incorporated. 

As soon as the committee had a rough outline of the scope of its 
study prepared, the director of the section dealing with publicity 
arranged for a series of "hearings" in different sections of the state. 
These meetings were so located as to be reasonably accessible to the 
people from several counties. General invitations were issued to all 
to attend. Special efforts were made to secure the attendance of 
school trustees, representatives of local granges, members of Farm 
and Home Bureau groups, and other farm organizations. In gen- 
eral, the attendance at these meetings was good. In some cases 
as many as 500 or 600 were present. The meetings were a day in 
length and were devoted to a presentation of some of the principal 
features of the survey by representatives of the committee. Ap- 
proximately one-half of the time was devoted to open discussion 
of questions suggested from the floor. 

When the committee had secured a body of facts and arrived at 
some recommendations, the character of the meetings was changed. 
The number of formal presentations was reduced to two or three. 
These usually consisted of statements of findings and recommenda- 
tions. Each was followed by discussion. These meetings have 
been of very material assistance to the committee because of the 
suggestions that have been offered regarding its proposals. They 
are still in progress and will, undoubtedly, continue for some time. 

Suggestions are Invited 
As a final step, this brief statement of findings and recommenda- 
tions is submitted for further consideration. The committee hopes 
that it may serve as the basis of discussion in hundreds of meetings 
throughout the state. Ample evidence is submitted in this volume 
of the need of improvement of the rural schools, unless thousands of 
country children in the state are to take up their life-work with 
decided handicaps as a result of the poor rural school facilities that 
obtain very generally in the state. The largest single educational 

26 



problem in the state is that of equalization of educational oppor- 
tunity for the country child as contrasted with the child who lives 
in a city or village of the state. This equalization should come not 
by lowering the standards in urban centers, but by the gradual 
development of more adequate schools in the open country. To 
this end the committee invites constructive criticism from every 
source. It is a problem that should challenge the best thought of 
every citizen who has at heart the future welfare of his state. 



27 



CHAPTER III 
ORGANIZATION OF THE SURVEY 

Scope 

UNDER the laws of New York state schools in places of less 
than 4500 are classed as rural. In the organization of the sur- 
vey the legal definition was taken in determining the schools 
to be included. The survey, therefore, covers the work of element- 
ary schools in the open country and of elementary and secondary 
schools in places under 4500 population. Comparative data from 
city schools are used in certain portions of the study. Considera- 
tion was given to the state schools of agriculture, and also to 
Junior Extension work, which is conducted jointly by the State 
Department of Education and the State College of Agriculture. 
These were included because of their intimate relation to the edu- 
cational problem of the open country. A study was also made of 
the State Department of Education in its relation to the rural schools. 

Personnel 
The survey was organized in seven sections, with a director in 
charge of each. The sections and directors were: 

Administration and Supervision 

C. H. Judd, Director of the School of Education, University of 
Chicago. 

Teacher Preparation and Curricula 

W. C. Bagley, Teachers College, Columbia University. 
Rural School Buildings 
J. E. Butterworth, Department of Rural Education, Cornell 
University. 

28 



The Educational Product 

M. E. Haggerty, Dean of the College of Education, University 
of Minnesota. 

Support of the Schools 
Harlan Updegraff, School of Education, University of Pennsyl- 
vania. 

Community Relations of the Schools 
Mabel Carney, Teachers College, Columbia University. 

Reactions of Rural School Patrons 
E. R. Eastman, Dairymen's League. 

Associated with these directors were the following persons who 
were responsible for certain phases of each section: 

The Rural High School 

E. N. Ferriss, Department of Rural Education, Cornell Uni- 
versity. 

The phases relating to administration and supervision of the 
high schools were developed in cooperation with Dr. Judd, and the 
teaching personnel and curriculum problems were worked out with 
Dr. Bagley. 

The Supervisory District and the District Superintendency 

F. D. Brooks, Baylor University. 
The School District 

T. H. Shelby, University of Texas. 
Principles of Administration, State and Local 

J. F. Bobbitt, School of Education, University of Chicago. 
The State System of Examinations 

P. J. Kruse, Department of Rural Education, Cornell University. 
Junior Extension 
Administration of the State Schools of Agriculture 

E. L. Holton, State College of Agriculture, Manhattan, Kansas. 

29 



The Community Unit 

G. A. Works, Department of Rural Education, Cornell Univer- 
sity. 

Medical Inspection and Health Education 
E. A. Peterson, Cuyahoga County Public Health Association. 

The above aspects were placed under the section dealing with 
administration and supervision, and were developed in cooperation 
with Dr. Judd. 

Curriculum of the Elementary Schools 
O. G. Brim, Department of Rural Education, Cornell University. 

Curricula and Instruction in Vocational Education 
T. H. Eaton, Department of Rural Education, Cornell University. 

These phases belonged to the section on teacher preparation and 
were studied under the direction of Dr. Bagley. 

In connection with the work in educational measurement, 
J. Cayce Morrison, of the State Department of Education, was 
responsible, under Dr. Haggerty's direction, for the selection and 
organization of the field force. 

Dwight Sanderson, of the Department of Rural Social Organiza- 
tion, Cornell University, furnished data that were of material 
assistance in connection with the study on the community unit. 

The summaries of the most important phases of these studies 
are included in this volume. Those interested in the complete 
report or in phases not included in this summary are referred to the 
complete reports, a list of which is given in the back of this volume. 

Method of Study 
After the directors of the sections were chosen, a conference was 
held in which agreement was reached on the field to be covered by 
each section, so that duplications were avoided or reduced to a 
minimum. The survey staff then presented its plans for the whole 
study to the committee for suggestions and approval. 

In addition to the directors of each section and the limited num- 

30 



ber of workers that some of them brought into the state, between 
150 and 200 persons engaged in school work in the state were 
utilized in the study. For example, the scoring of school buildings 
was done almost entirely by a selected group of district superin- 
tendents after careful training for the task. For other sections 
persons were secured from normal schools, village and city superin- 
tendents, high school principalships, Teachers College, and Syra- 
cuse and Cornell universities. 

Abundance of evidence is at hand in unsolicited letters that were 
received from these field workers to show the value they received 
from the work. The beneficial influence on their work in the 
school system cannot be questioned. The following excerpts will 
make clear the viewpoint of several of them: 

"This has been a wonderfully interesting piece of work; in fact, I 
consider it as helpful as a course at any good summer school." 

"The survey will, I trust, help the schools directly; but if it does 
nothing else, it has opened the eyes of the surveyors to some condi- 
tions that will react on their own efforts in the training of teachers. 
I thank you for this eye-opener." 

"The survey was illuminating to me. I know rural schools 
pretty well, but I confess that I had never suspected the poverty of 
the teaching. I should thank you for the opportunity to partici- 
pate in this survey, as it was a week of growth for me — a widening 
of the skyline." 

Superintendents and teachers found the contacts with the field 
workers stimulating, as is shown by letters that they voluntarily 
sent to the director. One district superintendent wrote: "Miss 

and I have just completed three very hard but profitable days 

in the rural schools of my district. I tried in every way to have her 
see all the different problems in my schools. I consider it a privi- 
lege to have a worker in my district of her caliber, I know that I 
obtained some worthwhile suggestions from her. " 

Another superintendent who had a field worker from one of the 
normal schools suggested that he had been so much benefited that 
he wished it might be made an annual feature. Enough evidence 
of this character has been submitted so that the committee is con- 
vinced that, regardless of legislation, such as it hopes eventually 

31 



to see enacted, the reawakening that has come among rural school 
patrons, the stimulation of interest and broadening of vision on the 
part of those engaged in the teaching profession, have been worth 
much more to the state than all time and money expended. 

Selection of Areas eor Study 

In planning the survey it was recognized that since it would be 
impossible to reach every school in the state, it was extremely de- 
sirable to select schools of representative areas. With such factors 
as topography, types of farming, the problems of nationality, trans- 
portation facilities, and the contrasting problems presented by urban 
and rural conditions in mind, the state was divided into seven areas. 
The study was so organized that data were secured by each section 
of the survey from each of these regions. Within these areas the 
different sections of the survey were so arranged that the amount 
of overlapping in territory covered was very small. This arrange- 
ment made it possible to reach every county in the state with some 
section of the survey, and in case of the larger counties, two or 
more supervisory districts were included. By this means many 
persons, both lay and professional, were put in contact with the 
work. 

For the sections on administration, school support, and school 
buildings, three counties — Delaware, Tompkins, and Monroe — 
were selected for intensive study, in addition to the data gathered 
for these sections from other parts of the state. This was done 
to furnish the material for application of the proposed changes 
to specific communities. These illustrations are included in the 
chapter on school support. It was felt that the application of the 
proposed changes to representative communities would give con- 
creteness to the committee's suggestions. 

Acknowledgments 

Acknowledgment should be made to district superintendents of 

schools, the great majority of whom willingly cooperated with the 

committee in this study, to thousands of school trustees who 

answered questions relating to the local administration of the 

32 



schools and on school support, to thousands of teachers for furnish- 
ing information, and to the many thousands of patrons who have 
taken an active part in the discussion of the numerous questions in- 
volved and given the committee the benefit of their suggestions. 
The committee is also indebted to the following persons for liberal 
contributions of time and professional service to the phases of the 
survey indicated. Without this cooperation the survey as carried 
forward would have been impossible. 

Measurement of School Progress 
Westchester County 
Field Director, R. G. Reynolds, Columbia University 
Assistants: G. D. Smith, 
S. L. Clement, 
J. J. Weber, 
J. L. Hoist, 
M. S. Pittman, 

Otsego County 
Field Director, H. Pillsbury, Deputy Superintendent of Schools, Buffalo 
Assistants: C. M. Hagel, State College for Teachers, Albany 

J. H. Cook, " " " " " 

A. E. Fitzelle, Oneonta Normal School 

A. E.Scott, 
E. V. Beebe, New Paltz " 

Tompkins and Cayuga Counties 
Field Director, P. J. Kruse, Cornell University 

Assistants: C. W. Barr, 

B. L. Brown, 
Helen M. Bateman, ' 
Edna J. Krentz, 
W. W. Reitz, 

Erie County 
Field Director, C. C. Root, Buffalo Normal School 
Assistants: M. J. Durney, " " " 

I. L. Kempky, " 

E. S. Smith, 

S. F. Chase, 

A. M. W. Ensel, Brockport Normal School 

J. F. Phillips, Buffalo Normal School 

3 33 



Wayne County 
Field Director, L. A. Peckstein, University of Rochester 
Assistants: L. Savage, 

J. G. Hendrickson, " " 

O.E.Reynolds, 

M. B. Furman, District Superintendent, Monroe County 

W. C. Trow, University of Rochester 

Oswego County 
Field Director, M. A. May, University of Syracuse 
Assistants: L. Vandenburg, Oswego Normal 

M. C. Richardson, Geneseo Normal 

M. Odell, Oswego Normal 

L. E. Brown, Cortland Normal 

E. M. Van Housen, Cortland Normal 

C. L. Sweeting, University of Syracuse 

St. Lawrence County 
Field Director, A. J. Williams, Superintendent of Schools, Lake Placid 
Assistants: K. E. Hull, Plattsburg Normal 

J. C. Johnson, Potsdam Normal 

P. M. Noyes, 

E. M. French, 

M. D. Cousins, " " 

F. G. Leitzell, 

K. L. Malloy, Plattsburg Normal 

School Buildings 
F. H. Wood, State Department of Education 
R. M. Stewart, Cornell University 
W. W. Reitz, 
T. L. Bayne, 



J. D. Jones 

E. A. Stratton 
Mabelle L. Rodger 
J. G. Pratt 

W. C. King 
Mary L. Isbell 
Clara E. Soden 
M. G. Rickey 
M. G. Nelson 

F. O. Green 
W. E. Pierce 
Myrtle E. MacDonald 



District Superintendents 
H. W. Dyer 
T. C. Perry 
S. C. Kimm 
Mrs. G. L. De Oloquoi 
A. W. Trainor 
I. S. Sears 
M. B. Furman 
G. G. Steele 
L. J. Cook 
C. W. Smith 
Harrison Cossart 
Mrs. Adelaide W. Gardner 
G. H. Stratton 



W. T. Clark 
V. C. Warriner 
Lou Messenger 
R. W. Eldridge 
C. B. Earl 
Winifred Morrow 
C. S. Hick 
F. A. Beardsley 
Hattie K. Buck 
J. D. Bigelow 
Mrs. Rose Minnick 
R. D. Knapp 



34 



School Support 
J. A. Bock, State Department of Public Instruction, Pennsylvania 
J. D. Brooks, University of Pennsylvania 
J. E. Butterworth, Cornell University 
L. A. King, University of Pennsylvania 
H. C. Case, State Department of Education, New York 
Alice J. McCormick, State Department of Education, New York 

Administration and Supervision 
H. V. Littell, Principal of Schools, Saranac Lake 
H. W. Langworthy, Superintendent of Schools, Oneida 
W. H. Lynch, State Normal School, Oneonta 
E. D. Hewes, Superintendent of Schools, Beacon 

E. J. Bonner, City Normal, Rochester 

R. L. Countryman, State Normal School, Geneseo 
L. H. Vandenburg, State Normal School, Oswego 
G. B. Jeffers, City Training School, Schenectady 
Frances H. Killen, Supervisor, Dunkirk 

F. B. Matheson, State Normal School, New Paltz 
Arthur Curtis, State Normal School, Oneonta 
Inez Ahles, Supervisor, Binghamton 

Instruction in the Elementary Schools 
Catherine Hayes, State Normal School, Oswego 
Mabel W. Vanderhoof, State Normal School, Brockport 
C. W. Shallies, State Normal School, Plattsburg 
Marion Forsythe, State Normal School, Potsdam 
Fannie W. Dunn, Teachers College, New York 
Adelaide M. Ayer, " " « « 

Abbie Day, " " << « 

Instruction in the High Schools 
S. C. Farrior, Teachers College 
C. P. Finger, Teachers College 
J. M. Sayles, Albany, N. Y. 
E. W. Spry, Webster, N. Y. 
P. J. Kruse, Cornell University 
T. H. Eaton, 

Instruction in Vocational Subjects 
Miss H. N. Estabrook F. W. Lathrop 

Mrs. L. V. Walker W. W. Reitz 

Mrs. E. D. Bentley H. B. Knapp 

I. M. Charlton 
35 



Regents Examination System 
A. W. Skinner, State Department of Education 
C. F. Wheelock, " 

W. H. McClelland, Perry, New York 
T. L. Bayne, Cornell University 

Community Relations 
Dwight Sanderson, Cornell University 
Rosamond Root, Teachers College 

The director wishes to acknowledge the complete cooperation 
of the State Department of Education and desires to mention 
especially the cordial support given by Frank B. Gilbert when he 
was Acting Commissioner of Education, and by Dr. Frank P. 
Graves since he has entered upon his duties as commissioner. 
Without this assistance many phases that have been included would 
have been impossible to cover, and all aspects would have been 
very much more difficult of accomplishment. 

He is under heavy obligation to the members of the Joint Com- 
mittee, and especially to his associates on the subcommittee that 
directed the survey. A statement of acknowledgments would be 
quite incomplete without including a recognition of the invaluable 
assistance that was rendered by the director's colleagues in the 
Department of Rural Education in Cornell University. He is 
under special obligation to the following for advice and assistance in 
the organization of the survey and in the preparation of this report: 
J. E. Butterworth, O. G. Brim, T. H. Eaton, E. N. Ferriss, P. J. 
Kruse, R. M. Stewart, and W. F. Lusk. 



36 



CHAPTER IV 

THE RURAL SCHOOL TEACHERS 

Introduction 
"AS IS the teacher, so is the school." Like most other 
/-% sweeping statements, this is only a partial truth, but the 

**" element of truth in it is fundamental. Good school build- 

ings and good equipment, important as they are, cannot make up 
for the deficiencies of teaching. Organization, administration, and 
supervision exist primarily for the purpose of making good teaching 
possible. The "curriculum" of studies and activities is of basic 
significance, and exceptional individuals, working independently 
with a good program of studies, have often achieved what would be 
admitted by all as a "good education"; yet such individuals are far 
from numerous, and whatever self-guidance may do for an adult, 
it is clear that the immature learner, however "bright," needs the 
direction of a teacher to make even the best curriculum fully effec- 
tive. It is through no mere accident, then, that the character, 
personality, attainments, and skill of the teacher are still looked 
upon as the fundamental factors in education, despite the great 
progress that has been made in the provision of books, pictures, 
maps, models, apparatus, and other devices for making easier the 
mastery of knowledge and skill. 

Undoubtedly the most serious handicap that the rural child en- 
counters in his school education as compared with the city child is 
to be found in the teaching personnel of the rural schools. This is 
far from saying that there are no competent teachers in these 
schools. It is only to say that rural school teachers as a group are 
more immature, far more inexperienced, less well educated, less well 
prepared professionally for their work, and very much less well 
supervised than are city teachers as a group. In consequence, the 

37 



chances that the child living in the open country will have a com- 
petent teacher are very small as compared with the chances that the 
city child has. 

To take an example, namely, that of the professional preparation 
of the teacher: The minimum of such training for elementary school 
teaching is generally recognized to be two years of work beyond 
high school graduation. The country child in New York State who 
attends a one-teacher school has one chance in twenty of coming 
under the instruction of a teacher who has met this minimal stan- 
dard; the child living in a village has more than one chance in four 
of having such a teacher; while the child living in a typical city of 
the third class has less than one chance in five of not having such a 
teacher. 

The country child is similarly handicapped in respect to the 
maturity of his teachers. Again there are some rural school teachers 
who are old enough to have acquired maturity of judgment — a few, 
indeed, who are probably too old to teach well. Yet the country 
child attending a one-teacher school runs one chance in four of hav- 
ing a teacher who is not yet old enough to vote, although charged 
with a responsibility beside which the responsibility of the individual 
ballot is a mere bagatelle. The city child has less than one chance 
in ten of having one of these immature teachers. Age and experi- 
ence go together, of course, and both are recognized, within certain 
limits, as contributing to the efficiency of the teacher. The country 
child in New York state has one chance in five of coming under the 
instruction of a teacher who is just beginning his or her work; the 
city child's chances are in the ratio of one to ten — just half the risk. 
The country child has one chance in six of having a teacher with at 
least ten years' experience; the city child's chances are multiplied 
by three — the ratio being one in two. 

It is true that the training, age, and experience of the teacher are 
only rough measures of the efficiency of a school. It is true that a 
girl of eighteen, just out of high school, may do excellent work in 
her first position in an unsupervised rural school. But it is generally 
agreed that these cases are very exceptional, and that the measure 
provided by training, age, and experience, although a rough measure, 
can. safely be trusted when one is attempting to evaluate the work 

38 



of so large a group of teachers as that represented by the rural 
schools of New York state. 

In the following pages an effort will be made to set forth these and 
other significant facts regarding the teachers of the rural schools. 
The information here reported has been gathered chiefly through a 
question-sheet which was distributed by the district superintendents 
in a selected number of counties that represent in the aggregate the 
important rural areas of the state. The number of returns from 
each county is shown by Table 1. Approximately 2500 (2497) 
replies are included in the tabulations that follow. The report, 
then, is not based upon a complete census of the rural school 
teachers. The total number of such teachers in the state is approx- 
imately 10,000. The findings, however, may be taken as typical 
of the teachers in areas predominantly rural, and in many cases we 
shall speak as though all teachers in these areas were included. 
This generalization is justified because the selection is obviously 
"random," and statistical practice has demonstrated that, when a 
goodly number of cases taken at random are considered, the results 
are not appreciably altered when a very large number of cases are 
added. We had the opportunity to test this principle by tabulating 
certain items in more than 200 late returns; the conclusions from 
the first 2500 were not in any significant way affected thereby. 
Furthermore, in so far as the facts regarding the rural group are 
concerned, 1 the findings "check" satisfactorily with a similar, al- 
though not identical, study of the teachers of the state made under 
the direction of the State Education Department three years ago. 

Table 1. — Distribution by Counties of the Rural School Teachers 
Sending in Returns to the Questionnaire 

Number of 
Counties Teachers Replying 

Albany 24 

Allegany 2 

Broome 146 

Cattaraugus 3 

Cayuga 20 

Chautauqua 1 

1 It will be understood that "complete" returns in a study of this sort could 
be secured only at great expense. Because of the validity of the method of 
"random sampling," the value of a complete census would not be at all propor- 
tionate to its cost. 

39 



Distribution by Counties of the Rural School Teachers Sending in 
Returns to the Questionnaire — Continued 

Number of 
Counties Teachers Replying 

Chemung 1 

Chenango 1 

Clinton 

Columbia 43 

Cortland 

Delaware 55 

Dutchess 125 

Erie 2 

Essex 22 

Franklin 101 

Fulton .. 77 

Genesee 1 

Greene 1 

Hamilton 14 

Herkimer 50 

Jefferson 39 

Lewis 33 

Livingston 36 

Madison 40 

Monroe 

Montgomery 55 

Nassau 1 

Niagara 71 

Oneida 63 

Onondaga 10 

Ontario 35 

Orange 41 

Orleans 23 

Oswego 67 

Otsego 32 

Putnam 1 

Rensselaer 29 

Rockland 87 

St. Lawrence 66 

Saratoga 52 

Schoharie 

Schuyler 

Seneca 2 

Steuben 200 

Suffolk 62 

Sullivan 1 

Susquehanna 1 

Tioga. 24 

Tompkins 1 

Ulster 79 

Warren 28 

Washington 69 

Wayne 1 

Westchester 

Wyoming 44 

Yates 2 

4° 



The Classification or Rural School Teachers and Their 

Distribution Among Different Types of Elementary 

Schools 

The 2497 teachers considered in this report have been grouped 

under five heads, as follows: 

Number Percent 

Teachers in one-teacher schools 1492 59.8 

" " two-teacher " 237 9.5 

" " village " 695 27.8 

Principals of village schools 1 47 1.9 

Unclassified replies 1 22 0.9 

99.9 

Our principal concern is with the teachers of the one-teacher and 
two-teacher schools, and especially with the former, as representing 
most typically the schools of the open country. The village 
teachers referred to here are elementary teachers only. Another 
section of the report considers in detail the problems and personnel 
of the village high schools, with which the people of the open 
country are probably more intimately concerned than they are with 
the village elementary schools. Conditions in the latter schools, 
however, are important to the country people in so far as they 
present instructive comparisons with the open-country schools, 
and in so far as they are related to the problem of consolidation. 

The term "village school" as here used means a school of more 
than two teachers, located in a district under the supervision of one 
of the district superintendents. 

Proportions of Men and Women Among the Rural School 

Teachers 

Very few men serve as teachers in the rural schools. If the pro- 
portions disclosed by our study may be generalized, the total num- 
ber of men in the one-teacher schools of the state is not more than 
500 out of 8400, or approximately 5.8 percent. In the two-teacher 
schools the proportion is somewhat higher — 8 percent. In the 
village elementary schools the proportion of men teachers drops to 
3 percent. More than one-half of the village principals are men, 
however. 

1 This preliminary report will not include references to these two small groups. 

4i 



It is clear that in New York state teaching in the elementary 
schools, whether urban or rural, has come to be almost exclusively 
a woman's work. Opinions vary widely as to the significance 
of this almost complete "feminization" of elementary education. 
There are those who believe that men should be brought back into 
the lower schools at any cost, while others maintain that women are 
by nature far better qualified to teach younger children. Still 
others are inclined to accept the situation that has developed; 
this group would hold that, since it is apparently impossible to 
bring strong men into the service, every possible step should be 
taken to make the work of elementary instruction as attractive as 
possible to able and well-trained women. 

In so far as rural education is concerned, there can be no doubt 
that a larger proportion of permanent men teachers of the right sort 
are needed. Not many of these, perhaps, would in any case be 
found in the one-teacher schools, for here the younger children pre- 
dominate, and the belief that women can, as a rule, deal more effec- 
tively with the problems of primary education, is well founded. 
Even from these posts, however, well-qualified men should not be 
arbitrarily excluded any more than women should be arbitrarily 
excluded from the teaching and administrative positions to which 
men are customarily appointed. In open-country communities, 
where two-teacher schools are possible, there would be a distinct 
advantage in having as the "staff" of such a school a man and his 
wife, the former in charge of the upper grades and the latter in 
charge of the lower grades. Under these conditions the teachers 
would become a part of the community in a measure that it is diffi- 
cult to approximate where they are merely transient "boarders." 

The Proportions of Mature and Immature Teachers in the 
Rural Schools 

The largest proportions of immature teachers are found in the 
one-teacher schools. The median 1 age of this group is 23.7 years; 
that is, one-half of the teachers in the one-teacher schools are 23.7 
years of age or younger, and one-half are 23.7 years of age or older. 
Those constituting the oldest fourth of the group are thirty years 

^Average. 
42 



of age and older, those constituting the youngest fourth are 
twenty-one years of age or younger. Approximately one-fifth are 
under twenty-one; only about one- sixth have passed the age of 
thirty-five. Nearly 10 percent are not yet twenty years old; less 
than 5 percent have passed the age of fifty. 

The teachers in the two-teacher and village schools as a group are 
significantly older than are those in the one-teacher schools. The 
comparisons may be seen from the following summary. For conve- 
nience of reference the data are also given for elementary teachers 
in typical cities and for the teachers of the village high schools. 

Table 2. — Age of Teachers in the Different Types of Schools 





Median Age 


Range of 

First 

(Youngest) 

Fourth 


Range of 
Fourth 
(Oldest) 
Fourth 


Teachers in one-teacher schools .... 
Teachers in two-teacher schools .... 
Teachers in village elementary 
schools 


23.7 
27.6 

28.5 
26 

29i 

34 1 


18-21 
18-23 

19-24 


30 and older 
33 " 

37 " " 


293 teachers in village high schools 

Elementary teachers in 40 New York 

cities of the third class 




Elementary teachers in seven New 
York cities of the second class .... 





New York Teachers Median Years' Experience 

Elementary — Second-class cities. . . 13.0 

Elementary — Third-class cities .... 11.0 
Village elementary schools 6.6 

Two-teacher schools 6.4 

One-teacher schools 3.2 

Village high schools 3.0 

Diagram 1. — Teaching experience of teachers in different types of New 

York schools 

1 Approximated from Engelhardt's study made for the State Education 
Department in 1919. (Unpublished.) 

43 




The higher proportion of mature teachers in the two-teacher 
schools as compared with the one-teacher schools is especially in- 
teresting. It suggests a possibility that one may well bear in mind 
in the subsequent comparisons of these two groups — the possibility, 
namely, that it is not so much the social and recreational isolation 
of the one-teacher school that renders it unattractive to the mature 
teacher as it is the professional isolation. The presence of even one 
fellow- worker adds to the respect that one has for one 's work and 
the satisfaction that one finds in it. The two-teacher school, too, 
not only provides professional companionship, but it also permits a 
significant measure of specialization in teaching. The conscientious 
teacher is likely to be depressed and discouraged by the congested 
program that is necessary when one attempts to teach all the sub- 
jects of the elementary program. Only a few minutes can be given 
to each class; the careful preparation of each lesson by the teacher 
is out of the question, and an undue amount of energy must be ex- 
pended either in providing interesting independent work for the 
pupils at their seats or in "keeping order" when such work is not 
provided. Dividing the responsibilities with another teacher re- 
duces these difficulties and irritations by much more than half. 

In the one-teacher schools, however, something can be done to 
counteract this professional isolation. It is possible in some locali- 
ties for teachers of two or more adjacent schools to live in the same 
house and thus have daily opportunities to discuss their problems 
with one another. Supervisors of rural schools sometimes arrange 
for group meetings of teachers one or two Saturdays each month, 
when weather permits, and this serves to bring the isolated teacher 
in frequent contact with his or her fellow-workers. New Jersey 
employs " helping teachers, " who go about among the open-country 
schools conferring with the regular teachers and aiding them in their 
work. 

The Length or Service of Rural School Teachers 

If the teachers of the one-teacher schools were arranged in line 

according to the number of years that they have taught, the middle 

teacher of the group would be found to be in the fourth year of 

service. Between one-fourth and one-fifth of these teachers (22 per- 

44 



cent) are serving their first year, hence at the present time the one- 
teacher schools employ each year approximately 1850 new teachers. 
On the other hand, one-fourth of these teachers have taught eight 
years or longer. 

The comparison of this group with the teachers of the two- 
teacher schools, the village schools, and typical city elementary 
schools is shown in the following table: 



Table 3. 



-Teaching Experience of Teachers in Different Types of New 
York Schools 





Median 

Years' 

Experience 


Range 

First 

Fourth 

(Shortest 

Experience) 


Range 

Fourth 

Fourth 

(Longest 

Experience) 


Teachers in one-teacher schools of New 
York 


Years 

3.16 

6.36 

6.59 
3.00 

11. 00 1 

13.00 1 


Years 

0-1.22 
0-2.46 
0-3.23 


Years 
8-46 


Teachers in two-teacher schools of New 
York 


11-40 


Teachers in village elementary schools 
of New York 


14-48 


293 teachers in village high schools 

Elementary teachers in 50 New York 
cities of the third class 




Elementary teachers in seven New York 
cities of the second class 









The Families From Which Rural School Teachers are 

Recruited 

Information on this point was sought for three reasons: (1) It is 
important to know in how far the teachers in our public schools rep- 
resent native American families. (2) It is generally believed that 
the best rural school teachers, other things equal, are those who are 
familiar with open-country life and appreciative of its problems. 
The assumption will scarcely be questioned that teachers who have 
been brought up in the open country will meet these conditions more 
frequently than will teachers who have grown up under urban con- 
ditions. We shall wish to know, then, what proportion of the rural 
school teachers are now drawn from rural homes? (3) If it be 

1 Approximated from Engelhardt's study. 
45 



granted that the rural schools should draw their teachers largely 
from rural homes, and if it be further granted that the rural schools 
should have teachers who are at least as well trained as are those in 
the urban schools, it is clear that the economic status of the families 
now supplying teachers must be considered in any study of the 
problem of professional preparation. In other words, to what ex- 
tent can the type of family now supplying teachers for the rural 
schools be depended upon to provide such teachers with the neces- 
sary training? 

1. Nationality of Parents. — The rural school teachers of New 
York, whether in the open country or the villages, come predomi- 
nantly from native-born American stock, more than 83 percent 
reporting both parents native born. In an additional 8 percent 
of the cases one of the parents is native born. The small propor- 
tion of teachers coming from foreign-born stock is distributed among 
a variety of immigrant sources, among which the most frequently 
mentioned are: Irish (4.49 percent of mothers; 4.41 percent of 
fathers); German (1.64 percent and 1.92 percent); Canadian (1.48 
percent and 1.04 percent); and English (1.40 percent and 2.04 
percent). 

2. Occupation of Fathers. — Here an interesting and important 
difference is to be noted among the teachers of the three types of 
rural schools. In the one- teacher schools nearly two-thirds of the 
teachers come from farmers' families, and a slightly larger propor- 
tion report that they were brought up in the open country. These 
proportions decrease, however, as we pass from the one-teacher 
schools to the two-teacher schools, from the two-teacher schools 
to the village elementary schools, and from the village elementary 
schools to the village high schools. The facts are shown in Table 4. 

There is then a clear tendency, even in two-teacher schools, to 
employ as teachers fewer persons who have grown up in the coun- 
try than are employed in the one-teacher schools. This tendency 
increases in the village elementary schools and is most clearly 
evident in the village high schools — the schools to which most 
farmers are limited for the secondary education of their children. 
There is no reason to assume, however, that this is a discrimination 
against open-country teachers as such. As will be pointed out in a 

4 6 



later section, the salaries of teachers also increase as one passes from 
the isolated schools to the larger centers, and from elementary 
positions to high school positions. With higher salaries, better 
training can be demanded; for reasons that will be referred to below 
the most serious handicap of the farmer's son or daughter in secur- 
ing these better paid positions lies in the cost and inconvenience of 
securing the essential training. If, then, the interests of rural 
education require that, in the two-room schools, the village ele- 
mentary schools, and the village high schools, a larger proportion 
of teachers should have the open-country background, the possi- 
bility of reducing this handicap must be carefully considered. 



Table 4. 



-Occupations of Fathers of Teachers in Different Types of 
Schools 





One-teacher 
Schools 


Two-teacher 
Schools 


Village Ele- 
mentary 
Schools 


Village 

High 

Schools 


Percent of teachers reporting 
that they were brought 
up in the open country . . . 

Brought up in village 

Brought up in cities 

Percent of teachers report- 
ing as occupation of 
father — 
Farming 


67.35 

23.99 

4.28 

64.81 
8.64 

11.59 
7.23 
2.82 
1.47 


59.91 

32.06 

4.21 

55.27 
10.54 
14.34 
11.81 
4.21 
0.42 


42.59 

42.01 

9.64 

41.58 
16.69 
16.69 
10.21 
4.89 
1.87 


25.0 
42.0 
27.0 


Business 

Artisan trades 




Laborer 




Professions 

Civil service 





3. Parental Income. — What has just been said suggests at 
once the importance of determining as accurately as possible the 
economic status of the families that are now furnishing teachers 
for the rural schools. The difficulties of obtaining the information 
are obvious. The teachers are likely to resent such an inquiry 
under the impression that it is of no concern to outsiders. Our 
question-sheets gave a careful explanation of the purpose of the 
question, and further stated that the teacher's name could be 
omitted if desired and that, in any case, the information would be 

47 



used only in summaries, in which there would be no possibility of 
identifying either individuals or localities. It is, we think, a tribute 
to the rural school teachers that so large a proportion of them — 60 
percent — were willing to answer the question. This is a higher 
proportion than in any similar study with which we are familiar. 
There is, however, another difficulty which should be clearly 
recognized. Even with the best of intentions, a teacher may be 
unable to make an accurate statement of parental income. When 
one's father is a salaried worker or a wage-earner, the chance of 
error in stating this income may not be great, but farm-accounting 
is, of course, not so simple. Despite these difficulties, however, 
the summaries of the information obtained, we are confident, will 
warrant the conclusions that we shall draw from them, and for the 
following reasons: (a) The results check in a fairly satisfactory way 
with those reported in other studies of the economic status of 
families supplying teachers, (b) It is altogether probable that 
most errors are those of overestimation rather than of underesti- 
mation, (c) Even if the average error were as large as $300, 
which is not probable, the significance of the figures for our pur- 
poses would not be appreciably lessened. 

If the information that we have be regarded as trustworthy, we 
may conclude that the typical or median rural school teacher in 
New York comes from a family which had an annual income of 
approximately $1000 at the time when he or she began the work 
of teaching; one-half of these teachers, then, came from families 
having a $1000 income or less; one-half came from families whose 
incomes equaled or exceeded this figure. The median parental 
income does not vary significantly among the three types of rural 
school teachers considered (one-teacher schools, two-teacher schools, 
and village schools). 1 Hence any advantages that the teachers of 
the last two groups have enjoyed as compared with the first group 
are not to any large extent those that may be provided by larger 
parental incomes, although it should be noted that the proportion 
of village teachers coming from the best circumstanced families is 
somewhat in excess of the proportion of teachers of the other two 

x The median parental income of the principals and teachers of the village 
high schools is approximately $1200. 

48 



groups coming from such families, and that the proportion coming 
from the least well-circumstanced families is correspondingly lower 
in the village group. On the whole, however, elementary teachers, 
not only in the rural districts, but throughout the state and the 
nation, are drawn predominantly from families in moderate circum- 
stances, 1 families that would find it extremely difficult to provide a 
costly professional education for any of their children. This fact 
must be of basic significance in considering any proposals for rais- 
ing the qualifications of teachers through advancing arbitrarily 
the standard of training. 

4. Number of Children in the Family. — Closely associated 
with the economic status of the families supplying elementary 
teachers is the size of the family. With only one or two children, a 
family in even very moderate circumstances can often provide for 
the education of the children during the later years of their youth 
under circumstances where the expenses of living away from home 
must be met. This possibly is lessened with even one additional 
child, while such a family with four children almost certainly would 
be seriously handicapped in educating its older children, although 
the younger children, or at least the youngest, might be sent away 
to school — aided by the older brothers and sisters. 

How large, then, are the families supplying teachers and to what 
extent do these teachers represent the younger children of their 
respective families? Inasmuch as 99 percent of the replies gave 
information on the first point, and nearly as many on the second 
point, the difficulties involved in the determination of economic 
status do not confront us here. One-half of the rural school 

1 This was clearly revealed by the first careful investigation of the problem, 
L. D. Coff man's The Social Composition of the Teaching Population, published in 
1911. The annual parental income of the women in the elementary schools of 
the country was estimated by Coffman to be $836. A study of the town and 
city teachers of Illinois in 1914 found the median parental income of women 
teachers to be $795. A study of the Missouri teachers in 1915 revealed the 
median parental income of elementary teachers in the medium-sized towns and 
cities to be somewhat less than $1000. The figure for the white elementary 
teachers of Baltimore was found in 1921 to be $1200. When one takes into ac- 
count the decline in the value of the dollar during the past decade and the 
consequent absolute, but not necessarily relative, increase in all incomes, the 
correspondence among these findings is compelling evidence of their general 
validity. 

4 49 



teachers come from families having four 1 or more children; one- 
half come from families having four or fewer children. One- 
fourth come from families of two or fewer children; one-fourth from 
families of six or more children. 

Of every 100 teachers of one-teacher schools, fewer than nine are 
the "only" children in their respective families; of the teachers of 
two-teacher schools, slightly more than 10; of the teachers of 
village schools, slightly more than nine — variations that are prob- 
ably not noteworthy. Fifty-eight percent of the teachers report 
that they represent either the oldest or the second oldest child of 
the family; 36 percent are the oldest. Hence there is a very slight 2 
but perhaps significant tendency for the teaching profession to 
draw the older children. There is an obvious advantage in this 
apparent fact, for the older children in relatively large families can 
be safely depended upon to have had some valuable experience in 
taking responsibility for the younger members of the group. On 
the other hand, the fact that the teachers do not in general repre- 
sent predominantly the younger children of their respective families 
is clear evidence that any advantage which the younger children 
may have for extended education in comparison with their older 
brothers and sisters does not accrue in any large measure to the 
public school service. 

The Educational Qualifications of Rural School Teachers 
The facts and inferences set forth in the preceding section would 
lead one to conclude that the educational equipment of rural 
school teachers has been determined very largely by the oppor- 
tunities afforded in the home communities, or in the case of those 
brought up in the open country, by the high-school facilities of 
nearby towns and villages. The reports confirm this conclusion so 
far as it concerns the teachers of the one-teacher schools and to 
some extent those of the two-teacher schools. 

1 This median coincides with that found in all previous studies of elementary 
teachers. It should be noted that this is larger than the average family of the 
country and the average family of the state. Elementary teachers come pre- 
dominantly from large families. 

2 Some of these "oldest children" are, of course, the "only" children of their 
respective families. 

So 



1. Elementary Education. — A small proportion — about 10 
percent 1 — of the teachers in all three types of schools have appar- 
ently had no formal education beyond the elementary school. 
These are presumably the older teachers, who entered the service 
when standards of certification were lower than they have been in 
recent years, together with a few who have been granted temporary 
certificates during the past two years of "teacher-shortage." 

2. High School Education. — Nearly 90 percent of the rural 
school teachers have had some high school education, and a sub- 
stantial majority — 85 percent — are graduates of four-year high 
schools. Comparisons may readily be made from the following 
table: 

Table 5. — High School Training of Teachers in Different Types of 

Schools 



One-teacher 
Schools 



Two-teacher 
Schools 



Village 

Elementary 

Schools 



Percent of teachers who attended 
high school two years or less 

Attended high school four years or 
more 2 



13.46 
56.08 



15.60 
45.14 



10.35 
66.31 



The proportion having four years of high school education is 
thus seen to be lowest in the two-teacher schools and highest in the 
village schools. The two-teacher schools here seem to be at a 
disadvantage as compared with the one-teacher schools. 

3. Normal School and College Education. — A compensating 
proportion of teachers in the two-teacher schools, however, have 

1 The corresponding proportion for Pennsylvania was stated in 1920 to be 25 
percent. (Proceedings, Univ. of Pennsylvania's School-men's Week, 1920, p. 81.) 

2 In certain other states the proportions of rural school teachers who have had 
a four-year high school education are lower than in New York; for example: 
Alabama, 38 percent; Colorado, 35 percent; Virginia, 41 percent; Nebraska, 
58 percent. In South Dakota the proportion is somewhat higher — 58 percent. 
In Massachusetts and New Jersey the proportion of rural teachers with only 
high school education is very small. In Massachusetts in 1920, 85.9 percent of 
all teachers had had at least two years of education beyond high school. (State 
Report, 1920, p. 34.) Of the new teachers in the village and rural schools of 
New Jersey in 1919-20, only 20 percent had had less than two years' education 
beyond high school. (State Report, 1920, p. 41.) 

Si 



attended normal schools, some of them undoubtedly at the time 
when the latter were essentially secondary institutions. The follow- 
ing table shows the proportions of teachers in the three types of 
schools who have had some measure of normal school training: 



Table 6. — Normal School Training of Teachers in Different Types of 

Schools 





One- 
teacher 
Schools 


Two- 
teacher 
Schools 


Village 
Elemen- 
tary 
Schools 


50 New 
York 
Cities 
of the 
Third 
Class 


7 New 
York 
Cities 
of the 
Second 
Class 


Percent of teachers who at- 
tended normal school one 
year or less 


4.01 
3.41 
2.20 


12.65 
6.75 
3.37 


12.50 

28.77 ] 
6.74 J 


80.0 1 




Attended normal school two 
years only 




Attended normal school more 
than two years 


62.0 






Percent with some normal 
school education 


9.62 


22.77 


48.01 











The proportion of rural school teachers who have attended col- 
lege is negligible: one- teacher schools, 3.79 percent; two-teacher 
schools, 4.22 percent; village elementary schools, 5.45 percent. 
Few of these have attended college more than a year or two. Col- 
lege graduates constitute less than one-third of 1 percent of the 
rural school personnel. 

Undoubtedly the most significant fact regarding the preparation 
of rural school teachers is the very small proportion of normal 
school graduates in the one-teacher schools. Our returns indicate 
this proportion to be not more than 5 percent. If these returns 
represent fairly the situation in the state at large, it would seem 
that, out of a total of 8400 teachers in one-teacher schools, not more 
than 420 have had the amount of preparation generally agreed 
upon as the lowest acceptable minimum for elementary teachers. 

The proportion of teachers who have met this minimal standard 

1 Approximated from Engelhardt's study. 
52 



Normal School Education 

HOne year or less 
Two years or more 
Percent 



10 
ill 



One-teacher 
schools 



Two-teacher 
schools 



Village 
elementary 




Diagram 2. — Normal school education of teachers in different types of New 

York schools 

increases as we pass to the two-teacher and village schools, but in 
no one of these groups do teachers with standard training constitute 
anything approaching a majority. The number of teachers in the 
three groups who hold elementary normal school diplomas is signi- 
ficant in this connection, especially as the proportions confirm the 
findings set forth in Table 7. 

Table 7. — Proportion of Teachers Holding Elementary Normal School 

Diplomas 



Village 

Elementary 

Schools 



Percent of teachers holding elemen- 
tary normal school diplomas 



One-teacher 
Schools 


Two- teacher 
Schools 


4.82 


10.54 



30.50 



The failure of the normal schools to provide teachers for the 
rural service is by no means peculiar to New York. In some 
states — for example, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Jer- 

53 



sey — the proportions of normal school graduates in the open-coun- 
try schools are higher than in New York, but in very few states, 
except Rhode Island, has this problem been satisfactorily solved. 

4. The High School Training Classes. — If the situation in 
New York with regard to the small proportion of normal school 
graduates in the rural school service is no worse than in many 
other states, it should be said, to the credit of the educational 
authorities of the state, that their efforts to provide some profes- 
sional preparation for the teachers of the open-country schools have 
met with a measure of success which, under the circumstances, is 
distinctly encouraging. The high school teacher-training classes 
have been and still are the chief sources of supply for recruits to 
the rural school service. Approximately 54 percent of the teachers 
in the one-teacher schools have had the advantage of this type of 
preparation, and 49 percent hold training class certificates. The 
work of these classes is so significant to the problem of rural educa- 
tion that it was made a separate subject of study, the principal 
findings of which will be briefly summarized at this point. 1 

In 1920-21 there were just 50 of these high school training classes 
in the state. The work of typical classes was studied in detail 
through actual visitation and conference. The results of this 
study were supplemented by a question-sheet sent to all the classes, 
and filled out and returned by 48 of the 50 teachers in charge. 

General Organization. — The high school training classes are 
really departments of the town and city high schools with which 
they are connected. The members of the classes are high school 
pupils, some of whom take the professional work in their fourth 
year, whereas others remain one year after graduation, making the 
professional study a fifth or graduate year of high school attendance. 
In 1920-21 the 582 pupils for whom reports were made were almost 
equally divided between the fourth-year and fifth-year groups. 

1 The interesting and instructive history of the high school teacher-training 
classes of New York cannot be even briefly narrated in this report because of the 
limitations of space. The movement dates from 1827, and the New York 
teacher-training classes are consequently the oldest of existing American agen- 
cies for the professional preparation of teachers, antedating the first of the state 
normal schools (those of Massachusetts) by a full decade. (See Annual Report, 
State Education Department, vol. ii, 1915, pp. 20 ff.) 

54 



The work is under the immediate supervision of the local school 
authorities, although the state exercises a certain measure of over- 
sight through an inspector of training classes attached to the State 
Education Department. The expenses of the classes are met from 
local school funds, with special aid from the state to the extent of 
$700 annually for each class, with additional bonuses which bring 
the state's contribution to about $1000 on the average. 

The Training-class Pupils. — The classes vary in size. Two have 
only four members each; three have six members; one has 18 mem- 
bers; the largest has 21 members. The average membership is 
from 12 to 13. Of the total enrolment, 93.2 percent is made up of 
girls; 6.8 percent of boys. Most of the pupils are seventeen or 
eighteen years old when they enter the class. It is significant that 
a large proportion of them come from the open country — 65.2 
percent as against 34.4 percent from the towns and cities in which 
the training classes are located. The reports, both of the visitors 
and of the training-class teachers, indicate that the pupils as a 
whole constitute a genuinely superior group. 

The Training-class Teachers. — Each class is in charge of a special 
teacher — in every case a woman. In 18 cases out of the 48 report- 
ing, however, the teacher has duties in the high school in addition 
to the training-class work — usually the teaching of one other class. 
As a group the teachers are relatively old; the median age is forty- 
eight; the range of youngest fourth is from twenty-three to thirty- 
eight; and the range of the oldest fourth is from forty-nine to fifty- 
eight. All are native born except one (a Canadian by birth), and 
nearly all (44 of the 48) are natives of New York state. They are 
all teachers of experience. Only one of them has had so brief an 
experience as five years; the median experience is 20.5 years; eight 
have taught for thirty years or more. In at least 15 cases this 
experience has not included any service in one-teacher rural schools, 
and the median of such experience in the group as a whole is only 
2.1 years. A majority of them, however, are country born (66 
percent) and attended rural schools as children (68 percent). 
Two-thirds are graduates of four-year high schools, and five-sixths 
are normal school graduates, the New York normal schools account- 
ing for all of these except one, and the normal schools at Oneonta, 

55 



Geneseo, and Cortland claiming one-half of the entire number. 
Three of the 48 hold college degrees. Two-thirds of them have 
supplemented their earlier education by attendance at the summer 
sessions of colleges and normal schools. Only about one-fourth, 
however, have undertaken specialized studies dealing with rural 
school and rural life problems. 

The Training-class Curriculum. — The work of the training classes 
is outlined in a special syllabus prepared by the State Department 
of Education, and while the teachers make some changes to meet 
the special conditions under which they work, the subjects and 
topics of study are not essentially altered. The essential features 
of the curriculum are: (1) A review of the basic studies of the ele- 
mentary school, involving work in arithmetic, language and gram- 
mar, geography, American history, civics, drawing, and nature 
study, with some reference to agriculture; (2) a special study of 
methods of teaching reading, especially in the primary grades; (3) 
a brief course in the use of the library; (4) the "professional" sub- 
jects — psychology, school management, and school law; and (5) 
practical training in the art of teaching, involving both observation 
and class teaching. 

Both the observation and the practice teaching are carried on 
almost exclusively in the graded elementary schools of the towns 
and cities in which the training classes are located. In most of the 
cases two periods of from twenty to thirty minutes each are spent 
each week in observing class work. In more than one-fourth of the 
cases no attempt whatsoever is made to have the prospective rural 
teachers visit the type of school in which they are preparing to 
serve. In 11 cases only one such visit is made in the course of the 
year; in 11 cases, two visits; in five cases, three visits. Four 
classes report 10 or more visits to neighboring rural schools. The 
practice teaching is entirely in the local graded schools, except in 
three cases, where some practice in a rural school is afforded — in 
two cases for one day, and in one case for seven days! In the local 
schools the practice teaching is usually limited to the lower grades; 
as a rule, the student teaches five periods a week for two weeks. 

In only three cases are the training-class pupils exclusively con- 
cerned with training-class work; one or more non-professional high 

56 



school subjects are usually carried at the same time. This feature 
of the organization is, of course, one of the reasons for the slight 
emphasis given to rural school observation and practice. 

Summary of Training-class Conditions. — Many of the elements 
of weakness in the training-class system as the chief source of supply 
for rural school teachers are evident from the facts set forth above : 
(1) The curriculum must be covered in so brief a time that only a 
superficial preparation can be given. (2) This curriculum includes 
a wide range of subjects and activities, all of which are taught by 
one teacher. Thus one of the most serious handicaps of the rural 
schools is reproduced in the institution which prepares rural school 
teachers. Even if rural children must be denied the advantages of 
having teachers who are in some degree special students of the sub- 
jects they teach, it would seem to be compounding the injustice to 
impose the same limitations in the training of teachers for the rural 
school service. (3) The training class, even if it be made up of fifth- 
year pupils, is essentially of high school grade, for almost inevitably 
it will partake of the characteristics of the high school work of 
which it is a part. The prospective teachers, instead of having 
their associations with students more mature and further advanced 
than they are themselves, are kept on a plane representing lower 
levels of maturity and attainment. It is true that these prospective 
teachers are professionally concerned with children, but this does 
not mean that their professional study should be on the juvenile or 
adolescent level. (4) When professional preparation is organized 
as an incident to education of a non-professional type, the develop- 
ment of a thoroughgoing atmosphere of professional zeal and en- 
thusiasm is a difficult task. The pressure of other interests and 
aims tends to distract the student from the work that should 
absorb him. 

These are among the defects of the training-class policy wherever 
it is found. The New York training classes present, with these, 
certain specific and probably remediable weaknesses of organiza- 
tion and curriculum to which brief reference may be made. (1) 
They are not organized in such a way that the professional work 
becomes the exclusive work of the pupil during the period of train- 
ing. Such an organization is feasible and exists in the training- 

57 



class systems of certain other states, notably Minnesota. (2) They 
are not exclusively graduate or fifth-year classes. Four full years 
of basic high school preparation is none too much to serve as a foun- 
dation for truly professional study. To curtail this general or 
liberal education by a full year or a half-year is an injustice not only 
to the student, but to the pupils of the school in which he or she will 
serve as a teacher. (3) The teachers of the training classes, while 
thoroughly devoted to their important work, are as a group them- 
selves undertrained. Only a negligible proportion of them, indeed, 
meet the recognized standards for appointment to high school 
teaching positions, and yet they are teaching pupils nearly half of 
whom are high school graduates and all of whom are receiving at 
the hands of these teachers their preparation for one of the most 
difficult and exacting fields of public school service. (4) The train- 
ing-class curriculum is especially weak in its failure to provide 
explicit instruction in the special problems of the rural school 
teacher. One would expect, for example, even in a brief curric- 
ulum for such a teacher, a course in rural life problems and a 
course in the management of rural schools, which is a quite different 
thing from the management of a graded elementary school. (5) 
The failure to provide adequate facilities for observation and teach- 
ing in neighboring rural schools is a very serious defect of the train- 
ing classes of the New York high schools. 

All this is far from saying that the New York training classes are 
without their elements of strength. They have done much to 
meet a real need, for they have given to a clear majority of the 
open-country teachers a training which, inadequate as it is, must 
be recognized as vastly better than no training at all. They 
recruit most of their pupils from the farms and send them back to 
serve the farming districts. 1 Their teachers render devoted service 
under a grueling program. Their product as a whole is more satis- 
factory to the people of the open country than is the small fraction 
of the normal school product that enters the rural service. It is 
largely to the credit of the New York training classes that the 
median age of the rural school teachers of the state is higher and the 

1 In this connection, however, it should be said that the training-class certifi- 
cate legally qualifies one to teach only in a rural school. 

58 



average term of service longer than in any other state for which 
comparable information is available. 

But it is not in the comparison with rural conditions in other 
states that the open-country people of New York are primarily 
interested. The competition of rural with rural is not significant: 
it is the competition of rural with urban that is vital and fundamental. 
As long as the high school training class remains the typical agency 
for the preparation of rural school teachers, no approximation to 
the urban standards of elementary education will be possible. The 
city teacher has long been required to have two years of training in 
a state or city normal school — institutions equipped and staffed as 
no high school training class could possibly be. This two-year 
standard in New York state is already being advanced to three 
years, and there is a general conviction among students of the 
problem that the forces that have been pushing the standards of 
teaching upward will continue to operate until at least four years 
of a broadly conceived professional education beyond high school 
graduation will be the accepted minimum for teachers in the city 
elementary schools. 

Is it not clear that the high school training class as an institution 
has carried the rural teacher about as far as it can? The present 
system in New York, of course, could be improved; for the kind of 
work that it is now doing it could conceivably be perfected. But 
even its perfection would be but a makeshift solution of the problem. 
It is essentially a closed system ; it has reached the limits of its real 
growth. If the rural schools — already far below the city standard 
in so far as the maturity, preparation, and experience of their 
teachers are concerned — are not to remain permanently and hope- 
lessly on their present level, a new policy of teacher training and a 
new type of training institution are needed. 

5. The Six Weeks' Normal School Summer Sessions as a 
Substitute for the High School Training Classes. — The State 
Education Department has apparently recognized that the day of 
the high school training has passed. In any event the number of 
these classes has declined from 113 in 1915 to 50 in 1921, and no 
efforts have been made to replace those that have been abandoned. 
In their place an attempt has been made to give prospective rural 

59 



school teachers some training in six weeks' summer sessions estab- 
lished in the normal schools. Viewed simply as a substitute for the 
high school training system, this summer-session work would de- 
serve to be characterized as a long step backward. The normal 
school faculties are not as yet in a position to undertake the prepara- 
tion of rural school teachers. Their work for thirty years or more 
has been concentrated on the problem of supplying teachers for the 
graded elementary schools. Furthermore, while the summer ses- 
sion courses of a normal school or college offer excellent opportuni- 
ties for supplementing the education of teachers who are already in 
service, they should not be thought of as in any sense a substitute for 
pre-service training. In the first place, the most important part 
of a good teacher-training institution — the elementary practice 
school — can be operated, if at all, only with a greatly reduced pupil 
enrolment and an abbreviated program during the summer months. 
In the second place the period of six weeks is altogether too short 
for fundamental training. Better by far the retention of the high 
school training classes than their substitution by the far less ade- 
quate preparation thus provided. 

It is probable, however, that the policy of the State Education 
Department looks much further than the six weeks' summer sessions 
of the normal schools — that it looks, indeed, toward the develop- 
ment of strong departments for the preparation, of rural teachers 
in the regular sessions of these state teacher- training institutions. 
The possibilities of such a development will be considered a little 
further on in this report. As fundamental to the discussion of this 
and other constructive proposals for strengthening the rural schools, 
however, one further set of facts regarding the rural school teachers 
as a group should be set forth — the facts, namely, that concern the 
economic status of the rural teaching service. 

The Financial Rewards of Rural School Teaching 
1. Salaries. — During the year 1920-21 the teachers in one- 
teacher schools received a median salary of $837. The proportion 
of teachers receiving salaries very much smaller than this is almost 
negligible — only 2.4 percent report salaries of less than $700 for 
their year's work. Approximately 40 percent of the salaries are 

6o 



between $700 and $800, while 8.6 percent are $1000 and above. 
The highest salary appearing in our returns for the group of one- 
teacher schools is $1400. 

Comparisons of one-teacher schools with two-teacher, village ele- 
mentary schools, and village high schools are shown in the following 
summary: 

Table 8. — Salaries of Teachers in Different Types of Schools 





Median 
Salary 


Range 
Middle 

50 
Percent 


Percent 

$650 

and 

Below 


Highest 
Reported 


Teachers in one-teacher schools . . 
Teachers in two-teacher schools . . 
Teachers in village elementary 


$837 
915 

935 

1200 


$700- $900 
800-1000 

900-1100 

1100-1300 


2.40 
1.26 

0.42 

0.00 


$1400 
1500 

1800 


293 teachers in village high 
schools 


2500 







The salaries for 1920-21 were, of course, considerably higher than 
during any preceding year, owing both to local increases and to the 
relatively generous additions made from state funds under the pro- 
visions of the Lockwood-Donohue act. Any prediction as to the 
permanence of these salaries would be unsafe at the present time. 
It is interesting to know, however, in how far the compensation of 
teachers on this basis serves to meet the cost of living and what 
margins for "savings" and "culture" are possible under such a 
salary schedule as is here reported. 1 

Earnings Other Than Salary. — While a large proportion of 
teachers earn no money in addition to their salaries, 2 one-fourth of 
those in one-teacher schools report "outside" earnings. The pro- 
portion is slightly lower — 22.7 percent — in the two-teacher group; 
for the village teachers the proportion is 20.5 percent. The median 

1 It is to be noted that practically all rural schools of New York state have 
terms at least nine months (thirty-six weeks) in duration. A considerable pro- 
portion, indeed, — one-fifth of the one-teacher schools, nearly one-half of the 
two-teacher schools, and more than four-fifths of the village schools, — are in 
session for ten months, or forty weeks. The brief-term rural school is practi- 
cally non-existent in New York. 

2 Except in many cases a small sum for doing the janitor work. 

6i 



amount earned by "outside" employment is $90, with only slight 
variations among the three groups. The employment is chiefly in 
the summer vacations. Indeed, relatively few of these teachers 
(22.1 percent) are idle during the summer. Fourteen percent 
attend summer schools, 33 percent are engaged in housework, 
presumably in their own homes; 8 percent report that they do farm 
work; 2 percent are employed in summer-resort hotels; and 2.5 per- 
cent find work as clerks. Other occupations claim smaller propor- 
tions. 

Living Expenses. — Living expenses 1 for teachers of one- teacher 
schools average about $7.00 a week (median, $6.91); for the two- 
teacher group the median is $9.00; for the village group, $10.50. 
These figures are based upon the replies of about one-half of the 
teachers in each group. In about 30 percent of the cases the cost 
of board, room, and laundry must be met for a full fifty-two week 
year. In other cases the teachers live with their parents during the 
summer. By multiplying the weekly expenditures by the median 
number of weeks during which board and room-rent are paid, the 
median annual expenditure of the three groups for these items 
may be roughly estimated to be as follows: 

Approximate Median Annual 
Expenditure for Board, Room, 
Laundry, and Transportation 

Teachers in one-teacher schools $294 

Teachers in two-teacher schools 396 

Teachers in village schools 546 

Insurance and Pensions. — One-fourth of the teachers report 
expenditures for life insurance; the median cost for those reporting 
is approximately $25 a year. Contributions to pension funds, on 
the other hand, are reported by 70 percent of the teachers; the 
median amount spent for this purpose each year is $8.00. 

Support of Dependents. — An important fact to be considered 
in determining the adequacy of teachers ' salaries is the number of 
dependents that they support, either wholly or in part. Even 
among the unmarried women teachers in the cities the proportion 
contributing to the support of dependents is high, especially among 

1 Including board, room, laundry, and transportation. 
62 



those thirty years of age and older. The number of rural school 
teachers in the older age-groups is relatively small; hence one 
would expect to find a lower proportion having obligations of this 
sort. The following tables summarize the information regarding 
this point: 



Table 9.- 



-Percent of Teachers Reporting That They Support as TOTAL 
Dependents 





One Adult 


Two or 
More 
Adults 


One Child 


Two or 

More 

Children 


Teachers of one-teacher 
schools 

Teachers of two-teacher 

schools 


4.9 

6.3 
4.9 


1.4 

1.3 
1.3 


2.74 

2.95 
2.73 


2.90 
1.68 


Village teachers 


1.14 


Table 10. — Percent of Teachers Reporting That They Help 
as PARTIAL Dependents 


ro Support 




One Adult 


Two or 
More 
Adults 


One Child 


Two or 

More 

Children 


Teachers of one-teacher 
schools 


7.30 

10.54 
11.51 


4.88 

5.06 
6.34 


6.43 

3.79 

3.74 


5.87 


Teachers of two-teacher 

schools 


3.79 


Village teachers 


4.88 



While some overlapping is represented in the percentages given 
above, it may be inferred that about 10 percent of the teachers in 
one-teacher schools support total dependents, while an additional 
20 percent help to support partial dependents. 

The proportion of teachers supporting dependents is much 
higher than this in the cities. "Over 50 percent of the teachers of 
the second and third class cities and the villages employing super- 
intendents are supporting other than themselves." 1 With a rela- 

1 Engelhardt 's study, prepared for the State Education Department in 
1919. 

63 



tively permanent teaching personnel in the open-country schools 
the average age of the teachers would be considerably higher and 
the proportion supporting dependents would doubtless be increased. 
For this as well as for other reasons teaching in the open-country 
schools is not likely to become a permanent calling until better 
salaries are paid. 

Savings and Other Investments. — As a result in part of the 
relatively lower cost of living in the open country and in part of the 
fact that a larger proportion of these teachers live at home with 
their parents, the teachers of the one-teacher schools are able to 
save more money than are their higher salaried colleagues in the 
village schools: 

Percent of Teachers Median Savings or 

Reporting Savings and Other Investments 

Other Investments of Those Reporting 

Teachers of one-teacher schools . . 56.9 $221 .89 

Teachers of two- teacher schools. . 60.4 215.38 

Village teachers 49.5 172.41 

For comparison with the figures given above we have no data 
from teachers in the larger cities of New York. A similar inquiry, 
however, was addressed to the teachers of Baltimore a few months 
before the question-sheet was sent to the New York rural school 
teachers. Twenty-eight percent of the elementary teachers re- 
ported median savings of approximately $50 during the year 1919- 
20, when the average salary of these teachers was in the neighbor- 
hood of $1100. 

Summary of the Financial Aspects or Rural School Teach- 
ers. — The facts set forth above seem to justify the conclusion 
that, while low salaries are a serious handicap to rural school 
service, the open-country teachers, under the conditions prevailing 
in 1920-21, were clearly better off than were the village and city 
teachers. Although their actual salaries were lower, their cost of 
living was lower and their savings were higher. It is altogether 
probable that teachers, whether just entering the service or con- 
sidering a change from country to town or city, do not often take 
into account the compensating factor of lower living costs in the 
open country. A campaign of information emphasizing this ad- 

6 4 



vantage of open-country teaching might well be carried on among 
high school seniors and normal school students. 

As has been suggested in an earlier section, however, the financial 
reward is only one of several factors that have operated to make 
rural school teaching unattractive. Village teachers, to the num- 
ber of 340, answered our question as to the reasons for preferring 
village to open-country service. While 93 mentioned the higher 
salaries offered by the village schools as one factor in determining 
their choice, 99 mentioned the better teaching conditions afforded 
by fewer grades, and 80 mentioned "better living conditions." 
The alleged lack of "social advantages" in the open-country dis- 
tricts, which is frequently assumed to be an important factor in 
this choice, was mentioned by only 19 teachers, while the better 
educational opportunities afforded by the larger communities were 
mentioned by three times as many. The fact that the change from 
country to village enabled the teachers to serve in a "better school" 
was mentioned 28 times. Incomplete as they are, these findings, 
we believe, have a large significance. The mature and experienced 
teachers in our public schools as a group are professionally minded 
and have sincere professional ambitions. They wish to grow in 
their work, and, while they cannot be unmindful of the wages that 
they receive or of the conditions under which they must live, these 
factors do not by any means overshadow all others in determining 
their motives. 

If these inferences are valid, it follows that, in addition to the 
provision of more attractive financial rewards, a fundamental 
means of making the open-country service attractive is to improve 
the opportunities that it affords for professional growth and recog- 
nition. Our study shows conclusively that teaching in a one- 
teacher school is regarded by the teachers themselves not only as a 
difficult job, but as a job in which one's best efforts do not often 
bring either the personal satisfaction of doing good work or the 
professional recognition that an efficient worker quite legitimately 
craves. As long as the one-teacher school is a necessity — and in 
certain communities it will undoubtedly be a necessity for some 
time to come — then would it not be a sound public policy to make 
it a post of the highest distinction, reserved for teachers who have 
5 6s 



demonstrated their ability to do well the difficult work that it 
involves? This, of course, would be a complete reversal of the 
present policy, which regards the one-teacher school as the hum- 
blest of all the fields of educational service. Such a transformation 
is not, however, impossible. The problems involved are not exclu- 
sively financial problems, although higher salaries must be offered 
if competent teachers are to be encouraged to make this a field of 
permanent service. Beyond this, however, the problem is essen- 
tially social and professional — chiefly, we believe, the latter. The 
possibilities of its solution will be considered in the following section. 
The advantages that two-teacher schools enjoy as compared 
with one-teacher schools suggest also the possibility of developing 
schools of this type where larger units are impracticable. 

The Typical Rural School Teacher 
Having in mind the variations presented by the foregoing tables, 
it may be helpful to attempt a "pen picture" of the typical rural 
school teacher, based upon the medians or "central tendencies" 
revealed by the tables. Unless the variations are considered, such 
a picture is, of course, likely to be misleading. 

The typical teacher of a one-room rural school in New York state 
is between twenty-three and twenty-four years old, and has been 
teaching between four and five years, having begun this work at 
the age of eighteen. She is native born of native-born parents. 
She comes from a farmer's family which had an approximate income 
of $1000 at the time she entered teaching. She was one of the older 
children in a family of three or four children. She attended an 
elementary rural school for eight years and a neighboring high 
school for four years. During the latter part of her high school 
course she was a member of a teachers' training class. This class 
was in charge of a woman between forty and fifty years of age, who 
had graduated several years before from one of the New York state 
normal schools, and whose further education had been limited to 
one summer session in a college or a normal school. In this train- 
ing class the present typical rural school teacher reviewed the 
common school branches. She also studied psychology, school 
management, and school law. She took no courses exclusively 

66 



designed for the preparation of rural school teachers. She observed 
class work twice a week for a year in the local town elementary 
schools, and she made two or three visits during the year to a 
neighboring rural school. In addition to this observation she had 
two weeks of practice teaching in one of the grades of the town 
schools. 

With this equipment she began her work in a one-room rural 
school. She has had no additional education, either general or 
professional, since beginning her teaching four years ago. During 
the year just ended she has read perhaps one book on some phase 
of her work. She takes one professional journal — The Normal 
Instructor and Primary Plans. 

In her school she not only teaches but also does most, if not all, 
of the janitor's work. She sweeps the floor daily. She may do 
the scrubbing; in any case the floor of this typical teacher's school 
is scrubbed about twice a year. The outhouses are scrubbed once 
a year. She is on the playground with her pupils at recess time 
almost every day, and frequently takes part in their games. 
Neither she nor any of the pupils who remain through the noon 
hour has a hot lunch. 

She has a room by herself within a mile of the schoolhouse. 
This room is heated in winter. She is also free to use the living- 
room of the house and to entertain callers there. There are either 
one or two children in the home in which she lives and one of them 
is usually a pupil in her school. She assists the housewife in the 
work of the home to the extent of more than an hour a day. If she 
lives with her parents, she spends much more time in helping with 
the housework. Unless her home is there, she does not often remain 
in the district over week-ends. 

For her teaching she received during the school year 1920-21 a 
salary of $800, and she taught nine months. During the summer 
she lives with her parents and usually helps with the housework and 
the lighter farm work. Her necessary living expenses during the 
school year she estimates at about $300, and she may have saved 
about $200 on the basis of her last year's salary. She has no one 
dependent upon her for support, either wholly or partially. 

67 



A Suggested Program for the Improvement of Rural School 

Teachers 

It is assumed in the following discussion that the open-country 
people desire for their schools a devoted and efficient group of 
teachers. It is also assumed that this desire coincides with a 
fundamental need of the state. 

It is assumed further that such a group of teachers must neces- 
sarily meet standards of general and professional education that 
will not suffer by comparison with the standards prevailing in the 
best city schools; that the period of service should be longer and the 
annual "turnover" smaller than is now the case in the one-teacher 
schools; and that, in consequence, the group as a whole should be 
much more mature and should represent a much larger proportion 
of relatively permanent teachers. 

A third assumption is that rural school service is a specialized 
service demanding a special type of teacher who has been selected 
and trained with the peculiar needs of the service primarily in view. 
This type of teacher, it is assumed, can be best recruited from open- 
country homes; consequently any program for improving rural 
school teachers should aim to retain at least as high a proportion of 
teachers from such homes as is represented in the present personnel 
of the one-teacher schools. 

In addition to these assumptions certain of the facts and con- 
clusions set forth in the preceding discussion should be kept steadily 
in mind in considering any constructive proposals for betterment: 

1. The rural school teachers are now drawn predominantly from 
relatively large families living in very moderate financial circum- 
stances. It is beyond doubt to the advantage of the schools to keep 
the service open to this type of recruit. Even if this were not the 
case, it is questionable whether a sufficient number of teachers could 
be secured if this source of supply were cut off. (See pp. 45-50.) 

2. The high school training classes, because they are easy of 
access and inexpensive to attend, have been the line of least resis- 
tance in the preparation of rural school teachers. They have, 
however, reached the limits of their real growth, and their continu- 
ance as a principal agency of training will still further widen the 
gap between the rural and the urban schools. (See pp. 54-59.) 

68 



3. A reduction in the number of one- teacher schools and their 
replacement by larger school units will tend to raise the standards of 
education among the rural school teachers and to lengthen the 
period of service. But it will also tend to decrease the proportion of 
teachers who have the open-country background unless steps are taken 
to prepare young people from the farms for these positions. (See pp. 
44, 50.) Such a preparation cannot be successfully undertaken by 
the high school training classes. 

4. The relative unattractiveness of service in the one-teacher 
schools is perhaps due as much to unsatisfactory conditions of work, 
lack of opportunities for growth, and professional isolation as it is 
to unsatisfactory living conditions and social isolation. (See pp. 
43, 65.) 

In the light of these assumptions, facts, and conclusions, the 
following proposals are submitted: 

1. There should be developed a strong rural school department or 
division in each of the existing state normal schools, these depart- 
ments to be established as rapidly as the demand for those seeking 
training will warrant and as fast as they can properly be organized. 
These departments should be in charge of directors who are special- 
ists in the preparation of rural school teachers. Associated with 
each director there should be a staff of instructors for the appoint- 
ment of whom familiarity with rural school and rural life conditions 
should be an important qualification. The curriculum for the 
preparation of rural school teachers should be distinct and separate 
from the normal school curricula designed for urban teachers, and, 
although some of the work may well be done in the same classes, 
the rural school group should have its own quarters, its own organi- 
zation, and the fullest opportunity to develop a thoroughgoing pro- 
fessional zeal and purpose. Closely associated with each rural 
school department there should be a group of neighboring rural 
schools. These should form the chief "laboratory" of the rural 
school department. The teachers of these outlying schools should 
have demonstrated their ability to do expertly well the work that 
the rural school involves. They should be paid in part by the state 
and should have recognition as members of the normal school staff. 

69 



At the same time they should be thoroughly acceptable as teachers 
to the local communities in which their schools are located. 

The state normal schools at the present time are doing practically 
nothing in the way of supplying teachers for the rural schools, 
partly because their product is taken up immediately by the town 
and city schools and partly because the differentiated and specialized 
training that rural school teaching involves has not been provided. 
These conditions should be borne in mind when the few normal 
school graduates in the rural school service — often those who have 
failed to secure town and city appointments — are contrasted with 
the graduates of high school training classes — almost always to the 
disparagement of the former. Unless the normal schools are pro- 
vided with well-staffed departments for training rural school teach- 
ers, the preparation of such teachers would best be left to the high 
school training classes; but it is thoroughly practicable to provide 
such departments and to give to the prospective rural school 
teachers a type of preparation that the high schools could not 
possibly equal. The normal schools in question are well distrib- 
uted and well located for the purpose. 

2. To make possible a selection of the best available talent, and 
to keep the teaching positions in the rural schools open to young 
people from the open-country homes that heretofore supplied the 
teachers of the one-teacher schools, a system of state scholarships 
should be provided. These should be open only to high school 
graduates who rank with the upper one-half or two-thirds of their 
high school classes. In addition, the most scientific means possible 
shall be used in determining their adaptability to teaching. In 
addition to these personal and educational qualifications they must 
have lived for at least two years in a rural community, as defined by 
the Federal census. Such scholarships should provide the holder 
with tuition while attending an approved course, and an allowance 
of $200 per year while away from home. The acceptance of a schol- 
arship should be in the form of a pledge to serve following gradua- 
tion for at least three years in the rural schools of the state. In case 
the holder of a university scholarship obtains a teaching scholar- 
ship, he shall be entitled to both if in attendance at any institution 
offering a course approved for the training of rural school teachers. 

70 



This proposal to provide scholarships for teachers in training has 
abundant precedents. The state of New York already offers 
scholarships on a competitive basis to high-school graduates who 
wish to continue their studies in colleges and universities. If the 
holder of such a scholarship wishes to prepare for high school teach- 
ing, he or she may attend the State Teachers College at Albany and 
receive free tuition in addition to the cash bonus provided by the 
scholarship. The state also provides generous scholarships for 
those who are qualified to prepare for teaching vocational subjects 
under the provisions of the Smith-Hughes act. Maryland provides 
"maintenance scholarships" for students in its state normal schools; 
these include all necessary expenses of the student in excess of $100 
each year. Smaller cash bonuses to such students are provided in 
a few other states. In many of the southern and western states 
scholarships are available from public funds for graduate study in 
the state universities. Such study is essential for appointment to 
teaching and research positions in the higher institutions. 

3. State aid to one-teacher schools should be distributed in part 
on the basis of the training that the teacher has had, and to an 
extent that will enable any community to pay a substantial salary 
to a well-trained teacher if it wishes to employ such a teacher. A 
policy of this sort will do much to make the one-teacher schools the 
posts of greatest distinction. It would be advantageous, indeed, if 
beginning teachers, even when graduates of rural training depart- 
ments of the normal schools, could first serve an apprenticeship in 
village schools or two-teacher schools before being advanced to the 
more difficult work of the one-teacher school. 

4. In order to provide opportunities for continuous growth upon 
the part of rural school teachers, the rural school departments of 
the normal schools should organize Saturday classes at convenient 
centers and should also provide summer courses. This work 
should be designed still further to improve the teachers in the work 
of rural education, and the successful completion of such courses 
should qualify the teacher for salary advances, as is now the policy 
in progressive city school systems. 

5. Provision should also be made in competent state institutions 
for special courses for supervisory officers to the end that these 

7i 



officers may be qualified to provide competent help for teachers in 
service. 

6. It is suggested that after 1927 no new teachers shall be ad- 
mitted to service in the elementary rural schools who have not 
completed a course in one of the state normal schools or the equiva- 
lent, such courses to be specifically designed to prepare for service 
in the rural schools. 

7. During the period that it is necessary for high school training 
classes to be maintained it is proposed that the expense of such 
classes be borne by the state. This will necessitate complete con- 
trol of the location, selection of teachers, and work done in these 
classes by the State Department of Education. 

8. A special division of the State Department of Education 
should be organized to have, among other functions, administrative 
charge of the education of rural school teachers. This division 
should supervise the rural training departments of the state normal 
schools both as to the preparation that they provide for prospective 
rural teachers and as to the extension and summer courses that 
they offer to teachers in service. It should be particularly charged 
with responsibility for keeping the work of these departments close 
to the rural school problem. 

9. The general policies governing the education of rural school 
teachers, however, should not be exclusively in the hands of the 
State Department of Education. At least once each year the men 
and women employed in the rural school departments of the normal 
schools, together with the specialists in the rural school division of 
the State Department of Education, should meet in conference for 
a thoroughgoing discussion of the problems that their work involves. 
Other groups should be represented in this conference — the rural 
school teachers themselves, the district superintendents, and the 
principal country-life organizations. Recommendations and sug- 
gested policies adopted by this conference should be duly considered 
by the Commissioner of Education, and, where changes in legislation 
are involved, transmitted by him to the governor and assembly. 
In this way the beneficial influences of central oversight may be 
retained without retaining also its stultifying effects. In this way, 
too, the opinions and judgments of those who are most closely con- 

72 



cerned with the work of rural education, and the wishes, criticisms, 
and suggestions of those who have most at stake in the rural schools, 
can be brought together in open discussion at stated intervals, and 
a means provided through which proposals for betterment can be 
not only formulated after due deliberation, but also sent on through 
regularly constituted channels to those with whom the final deci- 
sion must rest — namely, the people of the state themselves as rep- 
resented in their law-making and executive bodies. 



73 



CHAPTER V 

CURRICULUM OF THE, ELEMENTARY RURAL 
SCHOOL 

Purpose of This Section 

THE purpose of this section of the survey is to make a study 
of that phase of school work which has to do with the things 
actually studied and taught. In a measure it is the very 
heart of the school. The organization of schools, the expenditure of 
money, the preparation and supervision of teachers, are all carried 
on to make the content of the curriculum become the real possession 
of the child. It is important, then, for the people to know whether 
this curriculum is in keeping with modern standards and whether 
it is furnishing to their children the best possible education. 

In New York state we have a state curriculum, that is, the State 
Department of Education issues a number of pamphlets indicating 
what subjects should be studied in the elementary school and when 
they should be studied, giving some advice as to what should be 
included in each subject and how it should be taught. A school 
need not follow this, for the law gives each district the right to make 
its own curriculum. 1 In actual practice, however, the state-issued 
curriculum is uniformly followed. Our first task was, then, to 
evaluate this state curriculum, to see whether the help and advice 
given are in keeping with modern educational principles and prac- 
tices. 

Purpose or Elementary Education 

In making this study two fundamental principles were assumed. 

In the first place, it is held that the purpose of elementary education 

is the same for country children as for village or city children, and 

that is, to give them such training as will make them acceptable 

1 Section 275, subdivision 10, 1921. Edition of Education Law, p. 92. 

74 



members of society, fitted, in so far as their ages permit, to meet the 
practical demands of daily life, possessing an interest in further 
learning, and so prepared that they will be free to enter upon any 
line of work or further schooling that they may care to choose. 
Our rich social heritage and the opportunities of our modern civili- 
zation must be made available to all children. We object definitely 
to the idea of restricting or narrowing the education of country boys 
and girls to the end of keeping them on the farm. 

This does not mean, however, that the rural school should be like 
city school, or that the children should have the same curriculum. 
In many respects it means quite the opposite. The school is to teach 
the child the things he does not learn outside of school. It is also 
to teach him in terms of his own experience, and by means of the 
life about him. Because a rural child's experiences and environ- 
ment are different from those of urban children, the rural curric- 
ulum must differ from the curriculum for city schools. Local 
geography, local history, activities leading to civic habits and atti- 
tudes, the essential sanitary practices, will all be characteristic of 
the local community. The urban children must be taught to under- 
stand and appreciate the joys and hardships, the opportunities and 
responsibilities, and the distinctive social service of rural people. 
But the rural child must also learn the same lesson in regard to 
urban folk, their life and work, if a larger national community spirit 
is to be realized. To reach the common goal, rural and urban 
children travel different roads. 

Purpose and Nature of the Printed Course of Study 
The second assumption is that the purpose of the curriculum is 
to insure for the child an education in keeping with the best present 
standards, and for the guidance and help of the teacher, to enable 
him to give his pupils the educational opportunity that should be 
theirs. While its primary aim is to serve the children, it does so 
mainly by guiding the teacher. The printed curriculum is his 
hand-book. It should render him every possible service. It must 
help him understand the purpose of school work — what things to 
teach in arithmetic, history, and geography; how to teach them 
best; how to divide the time; how to group the children; how to 

75 



arrange the classes. All such advice should be in accord with the 
best practice in each case. But this is not sufficient. Since it is 
made to help teachers, the curriculum must suit their needs. A 
curriculum may seem all right when viewed from some central 
office. It may be very helpful to the city teachers, with their 
single grades, their better training, their better teaching equipment, 
their library facilities, and their closer, more expert supervision. 
These are, however, no measure of its value for rural schools or of 
its fitness for rural children. To be acceptable to them it must be 
suited to the rural school needs and conditions, and be written so 
that the rural teacher can understand it and use it profitably. 
Does the present New York state curriculum fulfil these conditions? 

Evaluation of the Printed Course 
Since in New York state there is but a single curriculum for both 
rural and urban children, those responsible for it evidently had in 
mind a common purpose for both. What this purpose is, however, 
one cannot tell, it is not stated — in fact, there seems to have been 
none clearly defined in the minds of those who prepared the course. 
The syllabi for the several subjects have been made out at different 
times by individuals or groups working independently. Conse- 
quently there are no fundamental principles which they all follow 
and no major ends to which all contribute. The several syllabi 
represent a random collection of facts, rather than carefully organ- 
ized material selected with reference to a clearly defined educa- 
tional purpose. 

The general conclusion about the content and method is that they 
are out of date in the majority of subjects, and far too brief to be of 
much help to any teacher. They are particularly unsuited to 
rural children and the rural teacher, who are most in need of this 
service. 

The greatest shortcoming is in the treatment of reading. Read- 
ing is a basic skill that all children should acquire. It is the sub- 
ject which rural teachers handle most poorly. It is a subject in 
which rural children are especially deficient, yet this ability to read 
is fundamental to all of their other work. It is without doubt the 
subject in which a course of study could help the rural teacher most. 

76 



In spite of all this the state, in recently revising its work in English, 
omitted the teaching of reading. Consequently the only help on 
reading available through the course of study is a brief and ineffec- 
tive treatment given in the 1910 syllabus. 

The outlines for geography, history, arithmetic, and physiology 
are limited to a mere listing of names or topics. These subjects in 
no wise bring to the child their fullest contribution. The syllabi 
serve mainly to give the teacher a general idea of what to teach and 
what is likely to be included in the examinations. Advice as to 
teaching these subjects is very meager, and in many places not 
consistent with present accepted practices. 

The syllabi on Elementary English and Literature and on Civics 
and Patriotism have been recently issued. They are much more 
modern in content and method. They should be quite helpful to 
the city teacher, but they are not suited to the conditions under 
which teachers in rural schools must work. The fact is that they 
were not made for the rural teacher or for rural children. 

This criticism applies equally to every subject in the curriculum 
except the syllabi on nature study and physical training. The lat- 
ter is the only one to devote a section specifically to rural and 
ungraded schools. In practically all subjects little attention has 
been given to the content most suited to rural children. Nearly 
all subjects are outlined as if a teacher were to have a class in each 
subject for each grade in which it is to be taught. If the curric- 
ulum were taught as it is outlined, a teacher with all eight grades 
would have between 50 and 60 classes per day. In the new syllabus 
on Civics and Patriotism this advice is given: 

Suggestive Time Allotment 

First four grades 5 periods a week, twenty minutes each. 

Fifth and sixth grades 3 periods a week, thirty minutes each. 

Seventh and eighth grades 2 periods a week, forty minutes each. 

If the rural teacher with eight grades attempted to follow this 
program, she would have to devote 740 minutes a week, or nearly 
45 percent of the entire time, to teaching civics. This is merely an 
illustration of the fact that the curriculum is not suited to rural 
school conditions. 

77 



That the syllabi in history, geography, arithmetic, and physiol- 
ogy are so meager in content, formal in outline, and almost barren 
of help in teaching is especially deplorable when one is concerned 
with the rural schools. The needs of rural children and the rural 
teacher are many. The teacher is relatively poorly trained, the 
teaching equipment is meager, the reference books are few, super- 
vision is limited. The curriculum for rural schools should be par- 
ticularly rich in detail, offering abundant material, illustrations, 
examples, and suggestions if it would serve the teacher's needs and 
contribute largely to the education of rural children. In this 
respect the New York syllabus falls far short of its possible service. 

Besides telling the teacher what to teach and how to teach it, the 
curriculum should give some assistance in planning the work. 
There is no better proof of the fact that the curriculum was not 
made with the rural school in mind than its failure to help here. 
The rural teacher faces some very practical questions, all of which 
vitally affect the educational opportunities of the children: How 
much time should be given to reading, arithmetic, spelling, history? 
When should the different classes recite? How can the work be 
arranged to reduce the number of grades and classes? What 
classes can recite together? What classes should come every day 
and what classes should not? The previous illustration from 
civics and patriotism indicates that something must be done to 
make it possible for the rural teacher to cover all the subjects. In 
solving these questions and many others which every teacher must 
answer rightly or wrongly, the state offers no specific help whatever. 
All have been left to the decision of the untrained, overworked 
country teacher. 

As a result of the teacher's unguided efforts in using a misfit 
curriculum we find the following conditions existing: Among 
teachers with five grades the number of classes per day ranges from 
17 to 32, with the median at 24; teachers having six grades vary in 
number of class from 16 to 37, with the median at 27 ; teachers with 
seven grades vary from 18 to 36, with the median at 26; teachers 
with eight grades vary from 24 to 38, with the median at 29. The 
average number of classes per day for all teachers in the one-teacher 
schools in New York state is 27. 

78 



As a consequence of this great number of classes the teacher can- 
not give much time to a class. Eight expert observers visited the 
schools and saw over 2000 recitations. This report is based upon 
1321. Out of these 1321 classes, 7 were only one minute long, 18 
were two minutes long, 34 were three, 14 were four, 150 were five, 
11 were six, 34 were seven, 32 were eight, 8 were nine, and 423 were 
ten minutes in length. To summarize: 731 recitations, or 55 per- 
cent, were ten minutes or less long. 

Partly because of the small number of children in each school, 
and partly because of the many subjects and grades, the classes are 
small. Of 1632 classes observed, 213 had only one child in a class, 
269 had two children in a class, 233 had three, and 228 had four 
children in a class. Fifty-two percent of all classes have three or 
fewer children. Sixty-nine have four or fewer children. 

From such facts it is evident that a teacher cannot be doing 
effective work. It is expensive to have a teacher teaching one to 
three children at a time for periods of from one to five minutes. 
She can teach more children better and they will stimulate and 
teach one another. The curriculum must facilitate, rather than 
hinder, an effective school organization. 

In spite of the fact that the rural teacher has received slight con- 
sideration at the hands of the state department in the making of its 
curriculum, he is the one who is most dependent upon it. City 
schools under expert leadership construct their own curricula. 
The rural teacher, to quote the words of one, "gets practically no 
other help from outside authority or higher up." If the state 
department wished to render the greatest good to the greatest num- 
ber, it should make a curriculum specifically serviceable to rural 
children and rural teachers. 

Use of Printed Course 
Since we are chiefly concerned with the children in school, our 
study would be incomplete if we reported on the printed curric- 
ulum only. Our second task was to make a study of the way this 
state-issued curriculum is being carried out. What use are the 
teachers making of it? What are the children really studying? 
These questions have been answered through questionnaires and 

79 



through visiting schools. A questionnaire was sent to the district 
superintendents. Out of 208, 180 reported. Three sets of ques- 
tionnaires were sent out to teachers. The first concerned their use 
of the state curriculum. About 2000 replied to this. The second 
concerned their teaching equipment, library books, and supple- 
mentary readers. To this, 202 replied. The third concerned the 
amount of time given to the different grades and subjects. Ap- 
proximately 200 have replied. While the number of teachers 
replying is small compared with the total number teaching, they 
represent all parts of the state; they include the good, the medium, 
and the poor teachers and schools. Consequently, what is true of 
them is likely to be true of all the one-room rural schools. 

In addition to these questionnaires, a group of eight trained 
observers, chosen because of their special interest in and under- 
standing of rural school work, spent about two weeks in the field 
studying the class work and talking to teachers. They visited 
approximately 250 teachers, spending about a half-day with each, 
and observed and reported upon about 2000 recitations. 

Before reporting the results of these observations, a word needs 
to be said concerning the proper use of a curriculum. No matter 
how carefully it is prepared or suited to the rural school, it cannot 
be applied just as it is. Communities differ. Classes differ from 
year to year. Children's needs and interests vary. The teacher 
must use judgment in teaching the curriculum just as the doctor 
uses judgment in administering medicine. The latter does not 
give the same dose to each person. He suits the medicine to the 
patient. So must the teacher. We must suit the work to the 
children and the community from day to day. 

The printed curriculum does suggest that the teacher use judg- 
ment in adjusting it to each particular school. To help in this, 
however, it gives little specific aid. The fact is that the teacher 
has little freedom in adjusting the work to the pupils. He has no 
voice in judging them. Continually facing the grade and prelimi- 
nary examinations, 1 he is practically helpless. He must, to gain the 
approval of patrons and supervisor, prepare the children to meet 
these examinations successfully. Doing this in the present cum- 
1 These are usually known as the Regents examinations. 
8o 



bersome organization takes the entire time of all but the very best 
rural teachers. This situation and the authoritative spirit of the 
state department, in spite of the few printed statements to the con- 
trary, have tended to develop a passive attitude on the part of the 
teachers. The rural teachers were asked whether they omitted 
any of the work as outlined in the syllabus or whether they made 
any additions. Many teachers have made such changes in order 
to make the work more practical and more interesting to the chil- 
dren, but the following are the more common answers: "I try to 
follow the syllabus." "I thought I had to teach all." "All is 
necessary to pass the examinations." "The syllabus is complete." 
The task of the district superintendent is to further the efficiency 
of his teachers and the education of the pupils under his charge. 
The curriculum should be to him a means of giving help to the 
teacher. Its formal and barren quality is partly indicated by the 
fact that its greatest value to them is in checking the work of the 
teacher and pupils to see if they are advancing in accordance with 
the specifications. It is true that the uses the teacher and super- 
visor make of it may be due partly to their lack of training. Even 
though that be so, the state should be aware of this fact and con- 
struct and administer the curriculum so as to insure, in so far as 
possible, its proper use. 

The Actual Course 

After all, we are primarily concerned with the things that are 
taught to the children and the way they are taught. To answer 
this question the eight observers referred to previously, all familiar 
with rural school work, reported upon about 2000 recitations. Not 
all the answers will be of interest to those for whom this report is 
made, but the following facts will be significant: 

A good teacher to-day will see that when a child is studying a 
lesson he does not confine himself just to the text-book, but will 
often refer to other books and to his other lessons and out-of -school 
experience. In the 1343 lessons used in this report, there were only 
42 recitations in which children mentioned things learned in other 
books besides the text, and only 102 recitations in which they men- 
tioned their outside experiences in connection with the lesson. 
6 8i 



The teacher should put forth every effort to get the child to see 
the relation between the things learned and the affairs of his daily 
life. Only in this way will the facts that he learns do him much 
good. In New York rural schools the teacher does very little of 
this. In only 188 out of the 1343 recitations did the teacher apply 
the lesson to the children's experience. 

Text-books are necessarily brief and formal, and cannot be very 
rich in detail. The teacher should be able to add something from 
his own experience and the dry facts of the text. If the children 
were reading of a mountain, he might tell of climbing one. If they 
read a poem, he could relate some incident in connection with it. 
This would make the lesson much more real and meaningful, and 
would be one of the big contributions of a teacher. In the work 
observed the teacher made some such additions to the lesson in 
only 100 recitations out of 1343. 

In practically all the work observed the teacher drills the children 
upon some facts they were supposed to memorize or calls upon 
them to recite what is in the text. They add nothing, he adds 
nothing. They do not apply it to their own experiences, and 
neither does the teacher. He then assigns the next lesson in the 
book and sends them to their seats to memorize the text for the 
next recitation. Sometimes he puts some work on the board, 
sometimes they take the lesson over. Often they do not study the 
text-book, but study a Regents "review book" instead. But what- 
ever they study, their task is the same. They learn the lesson and 
recite it to the teacher. 

I hasten to add that this is not true of every school. Some of our 
rural schools are providing the children with more modern educa- 
tion, but they are few. There would probably be not more than 
five in 100. 

You may ask what this has to do with the curriculum. This 
is the curriculum these children are following every day. One 
cannot say just how much the printed state curriculum, the Re- 
gents examinations, and the state's attitude toward local initiative 
in using the syllabi are responsible for this. It is the belief of the 
writer that they are largely responsible, both through what they 
have done and what they have failed to do. 

82 



Recommendations 
As a means of improving existing conditions, the following pro- 
posals are offered for consideration: 

1. The present curriculum is largely out of date and not suited 
to rural school conditions and needs. A new curriculum should be 
prepared, in keeping with present educational standards and modern 
principles and practices. This should be constructed with partic- 
ular reference to rural school conditions and to the resources and 
needs of rural children. 

Such a course should be closely related to the actual lives the 
children are now living and to the life problems they may normally 
be expected to meet. In accordance with this idea, and as an 
illustration of it, the problems of home making should find a larger 
place in the curriculum. These questions should receive attention 
in arithmetic, civics, hygiene, and art. Whenever the size of the 
school makes it possible, larger specific provision should be made 
for this topic in a general course in industrial arts. 

2. In order that the necessary local adjustments essential to a 
good curriculum be made, the printed course should specify the 
ends to be attained, and give abundant suggestions and help as to 
means of realizing them. The state should institute a program of 
leadership in developing initiative on the part of intermediate 
officers and teachers in studying local needs, in utilizing local 
resources, and in suiting the state curriculum to their pupils and 
community. 

3. Ability to read intelligently and easily is the most fundamental 
contribution of the elementary school. The report on "Educa- 
tional Product" shows that rural children are more backward in 
reading than in any other subject. Since the curriculum in New 
York state gives rural teachers practically no help in teaching 
reading, special attention should be given to this subject not only 
in providing help on subject matter and method, but also in arrang- 
ing the work so that reading will receive the emphasis it deserves. 

4. The present type of examination should be changed to accord 
with modern standards in content and method, and to permit and 
foster local initiative in adjusting the curriculum to local conditions 
and in carrying on experimental work. Less emphasis should be 

83 



given to examinations from the state office, and more responsi- 
bility should be placed upon the intermediate officer and the local 
teacher for determining the status of any child. 

5. In order that this new curriculum may be actually realized, 
greater attention should be given to the preparation of rural teach- 
ers. Work should be organized in training institutions which would 
prepare them, as fully as is possible, for a critical evaluation of 
educational practices, for a careful diagnosis of educational situa- 
tions to determine educational needs, and for the exercise of initia- 
tive and judgment in using educational materials to meet those 
situations. 

6. Such a program necessitates also that intermediate supervisory 
officers, of superior professional training, initiative, and leadership, 
be selected to direct the activities of teachers in testing proposals, 
in applying wisely the recommendations of the curriculum, and in 
discovering further economic and effective educational procedure 
for their schools. 

7. In constructing this basic rural curriculum provision should be 
made by the state department for utilizing the experience and 
judgment of all who are concerned with the problem of rural educa- 
tion. Conferences of state officers, district superintendents, teacher- 
training instructors, and rural teachers should be held, and the 
field carefully discussed. Committees, specially fitted, should pre- 
pare the various sections. All reports should be again generally 
discussed, critically evaluated, and, in so far as possible, tested in 
actual school-room situations before being issued. 

8. This curriculum should not be looked upon as final or fixed. 
In order to promote its adjustment to local communities and to 
promote constructive work on the part of officers of intermediate 
unit and rural teachers, it is recommended that some one in the 
State Department of Education be specifically appointed to exer- 
cise leadership in this field and to direct the work of continued 
revision and improvement. He should be responsible for the 
following activities: 

(a) A careful study of the results of research work in education. 

(b) For keeping in touch with improvements made in the actual 
school work in other states. 

84 



(c) For stimulating supervisory officers of the intermediate unit 
and teachers to test in actual practice not only the contribu- 
tions from schools of education and from other states, but 
also the recommended state curriculum. 

(d) For promoting, on the part of the intermediate unit, super- 
visory officers, and the teachers of the state, continued exer- 
cise of initiative in diagnosing the educational needs of speci- 
fic communities in selecting subject matter, and in develop- 
ing methods of utilizing such subject matter to meet these 
educational needs. 

(e) For revising this state-issued curriculum in keeping with the 
results of educational research and in keeping with the results 
of local experience in adjusting the curriculum to local con- 
ditions, resources, and needs. 

9. The foregoing recommendations are offered to guide proce- 
dure in improving the present situation under present conditions. 
The most acceptable curriculum and procedure in conducting it 
would vary somewhat from this. Elementary education is a means 
of promoting the socialized growth of the individual. Its aims and 
values must be determined finally by those responsible for protect- 
ing, promoting, and coordinating the interests of all and for further- 
ing social progress. In our country this task devolves upon the 
state. The state must, therefore, determine the major objectives 
and purposes of education. 

Education is to produce specific changes in individual pupils. 
The curriculum is a means to that end. What these changes are 
will vary with the individual and the community. The content of 
the curriculum and the method of procedure will vary more or less 
in different schools in the state. Common courses of study for all 
schools, whether in country or city, evidently will not be best for 
both. 

When rural education is conducted as it should be, the trained 
teacher, who is clearly conscious of social values and educational 
objectives, will diagnose local conditions, determine the local 
educational resources and needs, select subject matter, develop 
method, and organize school activity. In some respects these 
needs would be common throughout the state, in some cases com- 

85 



mon to a certain region, in some cases peculiar to some particular 
community. The curriculum, if it is to be suited exactly to the 
conditions and needs of children, must be constructed by those who 
know the child and his environment. 

In this the local teacher should receive every possible stimulus 
and assistance from the supervisory officers of the intermediate 
unit. They in turn should receive the same from the state. 
The entire educational force should work to help the teacher pro- 
vide for his children educational experiences finely adjusted to 
their interest and needs, and such a nature as to promote the full- 
est individual development and to make them efficient in meet- 
ing their many responsibilities. 



86 



CHAPTER VI 
THE RURAL HIGH SCHOOL 

Organization, Administration, and Supervision 

IN OCTOBER, 1920, there were 609 rural high schools in the 
state, approximately two-thirds of them being fully accredited 
four-year schools, and one-third offering less than four years of 
accredited work. Over 70 percent of these schools were situated in 
places of 1000 or less population; 84 percent had an enrolment of 
less than 100 pupils, and over one-half had an enrolment of less 
than 50. The four-year high schools, with a pupil enrolment of 
less than 100 drew approximately one-third of their pupils from 
rural homes. These schools would seem to offer the real problems 
of high school training for rural pupils, both from the fact that they 
have the highest percentage of rural pupils enrolled and because 
they, with the partially accredited schools, comprise practically 
seven-eighths of all the rural high schools. 

The study of the New York rural high schools shows that the 
percentage of pupils reaching the third and fourth years is consider- 
ably lower than that for the rural high schools of the United States 
as a whole. It is very similar to the percentages in the last two 
years for all the high schools of New Jersey, and is materially lower 
than in the case of New Hampshire. Compared with the schools 
of Connecticut, with a pupil enrolment of less than 100, or with the 
schools of Massachusetts with a pupil enrolment of less than 200, 
the New York rural high school shows in both instances a smaller 
percentage of pupils retained in the last two years. A comparison 
with all New York high schools indicates a greater holding power 
of the rural high school over the city high schools of the state. The 
number of pupils graduating for each 100 entering high school is 
considerably higher in the rural high school than in the city high 

87 



school, and slightly lower than in the case of high schools situated 
in villages having superintendents. The percentage of pupils over 
eighteen years of age in each year of high school work is high. In 
schools with an enrolment of less than 50, the relative percentage 
of boys is very low, especially in the last two years, indicating that 
these schools do not hold boys. In schools with an enrolment of 
more than 50 the relative percentage of boys and girls is very 
similar to that for rural and village high schools for the United 
States as a whole. 



Table 11. — A Study of Enrolment by Years of the Pupils in the Rural 
High Schools as Compared with the Pupil Enrolment in Certain 
Eastern States and with the United States as a Whole. The Distri- 
bution in Each Year is Shown on the Basis of a Total High School 
Enrolment of 100 Pupils 



Type of School 



609 rural high schools, New York 
(1919-20) 

All New York high schools (16-17) 

54 rural high schools offering voca- 
tional courses 

Connecticut high schools with enrol- 
ment of less than 100 pupils (1920- 
21) 

Massachusetts high schools with en- 
rolment of less than 200 pupils 
(1916-17) 

New Jersey high schools (1917-18) . . . 

New Hampshire high schools (1915- 
16) 

Rural high schools of the United States 
(1917-18) 



First 
Year 



41.51 
43.8 

40.25 



40.2 

36.5 
42.6 

40.0 

38.9 



Second 
Year 



26.85 
26.6 

27.75 



26.4 

26.8 
26.4 

24.8 

27.1 



Third 
Year 



17.69 
17.2 

18.41 

17.4 

20.8 
17.3 

19.1 

19.6 



Fourth 
Year 



12.81 
11.3 

13.59 

15.5 

15.9 
13.5 

16.0 

14.4 



Fifth 
Year 



1.12 
1.20 



0.50 



Organization. — With respect to its daily program, the New 
York rural high school is prevailingly organized on a basis of eight 
recitation periods a day, but with a considerable percentage of the 
smaller schools having nine or more periods. In general, the periods 
are forty minutes in length, though here again many of the smaller 
schools use periods only thirty-five minutes long. All findings 
point definitely to the fact that there is a strong tendency to divide 
the high school day into an excessively large number of recitation 

88 



Table 12. — The Number of Graduates for Each 100 Pupils Entering 

High School 1 



Type of School 


First Year 
Pupils, 1916 


Graduates, 
1920 


Continuing 

Education, 

1920 


Cities and villages having superin- 
tendent 


100 
100 
100 
100 


25.82 
31.94 
30.99 
32.30 


14.27 


Rural high schools 


18.89 


Rural high and senior schools 

Villages having superintendents .... 


18.25 
14.42 



Table 13. — A Study of the Relative Percentage of Boys and Girls in the 
Different Years of the Rural High School (403 Schools) 





First Year 


Second Year 


Third Year 


Fourth Year 


Type of School 














Boys 


Girls 


Boys 


Girls 


Boys 


Girls 


Boys 


Girls 


Schools offering less 


















than four years' 


















work, 1 to 49 pu- 


















pils 


43.2 


56.8 


36.6 


63.4 


32.9 


67.1 


27.3 


72.7 


Full four-year 




schools, 1 to 49 


















pupils 


44.9 


55.1 


39.7 


60.3 


37.2 


62.8 


34.8 


65.2 


Schools, 50 to 99 




pupils 


45.2 


54.8 


42.0 


58.0 


38.0 


62.0 


36.9 


63.1 


Schools, 100 to 149 


















pupils 


44.4 


55.6 


42.6 


57.3 


41.9 


58.1 


38.5 


61.5 


Schools, 150 and 




more pupils 


45.0 


55.0 


41.1 


58.9 


41.8 


58.2 


36.3 


63.7 


All the 403 rural 


















high schools 


44.8 


55.2 


41.2 


58.8 


39.4 


60.6 


36.7 


63.3 


54 rural high schools 


















offering voca- 


















tional agriculture 


47.0 


53.0 


42.0 


58.0 


42.6 


57.4 


37.8 


62.2 


Village a n d r u r a 1 


















high schools of 


















United States 


















(1917-18) 


43.8 


56.2 


41.3 


58.7 


39.4 


60.6 


36.8 


63.2 



periods, these periods in many schools being too short for efficient 
high school work. The daily teaching load of the principal is 

1 Statistics from Assistant Commissioner in Charge of Secondary Education. 

89 



higher than that recommended by many states as the maximum for 
high school teachers. The teaching load of rural high school 
teachers in the state is approximately one recitation period a day 
more than is permitted high school teachers in accredited high 
schools in the eighteen states following the standards of the North 
Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, or than is 
recommended as the maximum by many state departments of 
education. 

Administration and Supervision. — The principal of the rural 
high school in New York state is also the principal of the elementary 
grades. This plan of organization makes his work complex and 
difficult, and requires time for administrative and supervisory 
duties, if the school is to do efficient work. In spite of this fact 
the average principal in schools with a high school enrolment of 
less than 50 pupils teaches six periods a day and many of them 
seven and eight periods. One-half the principals in all rural high 
schools teach five periods or more a day. Over 75 percent of the 
principals have no clerical assistance, which means that these prin- 
cipals devote much time to routine office work that might well be 
done by a full- or part-time clerk. This lack of clerical assistance 
operates definitely in two ways — both hinder the efficiency of the 
school: (1) in the keeping of inadequate and poorly filed pupil and 
school records; and (2) in taking the time of the principal that 
should be given to planning and supervising the work of the school. 
The result is that a large proportion of the principals have but 
little time for the supervision of the work of their teachers and of 
the pupils or for consultation with pupils, parents, or teachers. 

All findings show that the principal, except in the larger schools, 
is regarded primarily as a class-room instructor, and that his posi- 
tion as the administrative officer of the school is indefinite and 
vague. Frequently the teachers do not recognize his authority as 
the director of the school and its various activities. Twenty-five 
percent of the principals have no voice in the selection of their 
corps of teachers. As a result, they are often hindered in making 
the best adjustment of the teaching load, and are, furthermore, 
deprived of one of the most useful powers of an executive. As a re- 
sult of the indefinite status of the principal and of the heavy teach- 

90 



ing load of both principals and teachers, particularly in the smaller 
schools, much less attention is given to the supervision of the 
pupil's work and to the direction of pupil activities than is desirable. 
Another result is the insufficient attention given to the organization 
of the school and to meetings and conferences of high school teachers 
for the consideration of their teaching problems and of problems 
related to the encouragement and control of the general activities 
of the school. 

Junior High Schools 

A present tendency of great importance in secondary education 
is to extend certain phases in modified form into the upper elemen- 
tary grades. One of the main purposes back of this movement is 
to effect a better adjustment of the school to the abilities, interests, 
and needs of the pupil between the ages of twelve and fifteen. An 
important result should be the closing of the gap between the ele- 
mentary school and the high school, and a reduction in the number 
of pupils lost in the seventh and eighth grades and the first year 
of the high school. Approximately 75 percent of the rural high 
schools in the state have moved one or more high school subjects 
into the upper grades, and a considerable number of schools are 
using in part promotion by subject and departmental teaching. 
These are undoubtedly steps in the right direction. In general, 
however, the subjects introduced into the grades have not been 
modified to meet the needs of the younger pupils. In the main, 
they have been those subjects exacting the highest percentage of 
failures among high school pupils, as algebra, Latin, and biology. 
The most frequent reasons given by principals for the changes are 
that more time is thus made available for the subjects, and that the 
percentage of pupils passing the Regents examinations is thus 
raised. It would seem that the subjects at present most often 
placed in the grades are little suited, at least as organized, to pro- 
mote a better adjustment or to meet the needs of the larger pro- 
portion of pupils of rural communities. 

The junior high school developed, in line with its fundamental 
principles, undoubtedly has great value for rural communities. It 
should be of especial value to those communities too small to main- 
tain more than one or two years of regular high school work. 

91 



Among other things it will give rural pupils earlier some phases of 
high school training adapted to their abilities and needs; it will 
bring them in touch with more than one teacher; it will make pos- 
sible better library and laboratory facilities. It should also tend 
to remove the natural stopping-point at the end of the eighth grade, 
and make the transition from the elementary school to the high 
school easier. 

Data based upon a report to the Assistant Commissioner for 
Secondary Education in regard to the junior high school indicate 
that in February, 1921, only 14 rural high schools had reorganized 
on the junior high school plan of handling as a group the pupils of 
the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades. Of these 14 schools, only 
three had a junior high school in the real sense of the term. The 
other 11 followed in general the regular state syllabus for the 
seventh and eighth grades and took up the regular high school 
work in the ninth. It is thus evident that little progress has been 
made in the development of the junior high school in rural com- 
munities in the way of curricula, courses of study, or types of 
organization. It should be noted that for several years a com- 
mittee on junior high schools has been working with the State 
Department on the problems involved in the junior high school 
plan of organization. 

Inspection 

The State Examinations and Inspections Division, as evi- 
denced by its written records of inspections made, has earnestly 
aimed at both the inspection and the supervision of the rural 
high schools. All findings, however, indicate that the attention of 
the division as concerns inspection and supervision has tended 
to gravitate toward the larger high schools. This is evidenced 
by the fact that many of the larger high schools received as 
many as three to six inspections in 1920-21. On the other hand, 
the inspections of over 100 of the smaller rural high schools were 
made by the district superintendent. A large proportion of these 
inspections were made late in the year. 

All findings indicate that the work of the Examinations and 
Inspections Division, as concerns inspection and supervision, is 

92 



primarily inspectional in character. This is probably as it should 
be. As a helpful supervisory agent, at least so far as concerns the 
rural high school, it functions to only a small extent. Its organiza- 
tion on the plan of subject specialists tends definitely to decrease 
the possibility of its helpfulness to the rural high school, where 
some of the most pressing problems are those of organization, and 
where the teacher needs help of the most practical kind in the teach- 
ing of several subjects. The fact that the division finds it impos- 
sible to visit schools at all frequently, and also the fact that it 
delegated the inspection of over 100 of the rural high schools, 
indicates that, as a supervisory agent, it is failing where help is most 
needed — in the smaller and weaker high schools. A definite 
organization, designed to bring supervision nearer the rural high 
school, and capable of giving frequent supervision resulting in 
assistance to the teacher offering instruction in two to five different 
subjects, is much needed. There is an equal need of helping the 
principal in his problems of administration, organization, and 

supervision. 

Buildings 

All findings show that, while some of the rural high school build- 
ings and their equipment and grounds are adequate for meeting the 
demands of modern high school training, the greater proportion are 
below any satisfactory standard. Approximately 80 percent have 
no gymnasium; 75 percent have no auditorium, and one-fourth 
have a play area of less than one-fourth acre. Laboratory and 
library facilities are in the main inadequate for the work of the 
high school of to-day. Conservatively speaking, with respect to 
laboratory and library equipment, the rural high school of New 
York has only half what it should have if its pupils are to have 
advantages comparable to those of the pupil in the city in those 
phases of work dependent for their successful pursuit upon the 
library and upon the science laboratory. 

The Regents Examination System 
Every angle of approach emphasizes the fact that the system of 
uniform state examinations in force in the state is an important 
factor in the administrative problems of the rural high school. 

93 



The excessively high percentage of failures each year fills the classes 
with repeating pupils and requires the organization of additional 
classes in some of the subjects. With an already overburdened 
teaching staff, this often results in a daily program ill proportioned 
and more extensive than can be handled effectively. It tends to 
reduce the high school to the hearing of classes only, and prevents 
the giving of attention to the pupil activities and interests so 
essential to genuine high school life. This tends to decrease inter- 
est in the school and to increase the problem of school control and 
discipline. Desire to reduce the proportion of failures tends to 
encourage the elimination of weak pupils from various subjects. 
All tends definitely toward the emphasis of those phases of work 
of most doubtful value to the rural high school pupil and discour- 
ages the adaptation of the school to local conditions and to the 
needs of its pupil population. 

The fact that the papers of pupils expecting to graduate are not 
returned until after graduation has encouraged in many schools 
modes of procedure of questionable soundness and often unfair to 
the pupil concerned. It would seem that the pupil who has done 
practically four years of high school work should know, within 
reasonable limits, at least a month before the day of graduation, 
whether or not he will be graduated. In fact, the Assistant Com- 
missioner in charge of secondary education, then Head Inspec- 
tor, made, in his report of 1897, a recommendation looking in this 
direction. Again, a pupil who takes an examination in a subject 
for the teaching of which the local school is not accredited is required 
to make a higher grade by 15 percent than the pupil who has 
received his instruction in an accredited high school. This require- 
ment would seem to be of questionable soundness. Finally, the 
system as a whole operates at the expense of the pupil, and espe- 
cially in the case of the pupil of the rural high school of the state, 
with its poorer equipment and less experienced teaching force. 

The Teaching Staff 
The study of the rural high school teaching staff is based upon 
the data from 416 principals and teachers composing the teaching 
corps of 123 rural high schools, distributed over 43 counties. 

94 



While the data are from only approximately one-sixth of the rural 
high school principals and teachers of the state, they represent a 
random sampling from all types of schools. Consequently it is 
assumed that things true of the group studied are true with respect 
to the teaching staff of all the rural high schools of the state. The 
soundness of this assumption in this case is supported by the fact 
that 63 questionnaires received after the first 353 had been tabu- 
lated resulted in no material change in any item. It is further 
strengthened by the fact that the academic training of the 416 
studied agrees very closely with that of 2387 rural high school 
principals and teachers of the state in 1919-20. 

Sex and Age 
Approximately 70 percent of the rural high school teaching staff 
of the state are women. Exclusive of principals, of whom 81 per- 
cent are men, approximately 91 percent are women. One-half of 
the principals are thirty-three years of age or under, and one- 
fourth are twenty-eight years or under. One-half of the teachers 
are twenty-six years old or under, and one-fourth are twenty-four 
years or under. In other words, the rural high school teacher on 
the average is a year and a half younger than the elementary 
teacher in the two-teacher schools of the state. Practically 56 
percent of the principals, as compared with 31 percent of the 
teachers, spent their early life in the country. 

Experience 
With respect to teaching experience, one-half of the principals 
have had nine years or less, and one-fourth five years or less. One- 
half of the teachers have had three years' experience or less and 
approximately one-fourth are teaching their first year. All findings 
point to the fact that a large percentage of the teachers in the rural 
high schools are young and inexperienced. 

Training 
About 60 percent of the principals are college graduates, between 
5 and 6 percent having done some graduate work. Approximately, 

95 



another 10 percent have had one year or more of college work. 
Approximately one-fifth have completed a normal school course, 
and an additional 3 percent have had some normal school training. 
One-tenth have had no regular academic work above the high 
school. The proportion of teachers having college degrees is some- 
what higher than in the case of principals, approximately 65 per- 
cent being college graduates and 9 percent having had one or more 
years of college work. Approximately one-fifth are graduates from 
normal schools and one-twelfth have had a high school training or 
high school plus one year in a high school training class. More 
than one-third of the principals and teachers have less academic 
training than is generally regarded as the standard for high school 
principals and teachers, the standards of the 18 states in the North 
Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and Cali- 
fornia being cited as examples. 

Salary and Persons Dependent 
One-half of the principals received in 1920-21 a salary of $1750 
or less, while one-fourth received $1500 or less. One-half of the 
teachers received $1200 or less and one-fourth received $1100 a 
year or less. Approximately 60 percent of the principals had one 
adult entirely dependent upon them for support and 35 percent 
had one or more children. Of the teachers, approximately 7 per- 
cent supported one adult and 3 percent one or more children. Ap- 
proximately 18 percent of the principals were partially responsible 
for the support of one or more persons and 20 percent of the teachers 
were so responsible. 

Professional Growth 
All findings indicate that the principals and teachers of the rural 
high schools as a group give a small amount of time to professional 
improvement. This statement is based on reports as to attendance 
at summer schools, as to professional reading done during the year 
1920-21, and as to membership in teachers' organizations. It is 
supported also by the replies of 384 high school principals in regard 
to teachers' reading circles in their schools. Only 23 principals 
reported teachers' reading circles in 1920-21. 

96 



Class-room Instruction 

One of the important factors in determining the efficiency of any 
school or type of schools is undoubtedly the work of the class-room 
teacher. To give an adequate picture of New York rural high 
schools it was deemed necessary to make a careful study of a com- 
paratively large number of recitations in a large number of schools 
and in a fairly wide range of subjects. 

For making this study a plan was formulated, tested out by 
actual use in the observation of instruction in several subjects in a 
few high schools, and then revised to eliminate, in so far as possible, 
its weaknesses. A staff of seven persons, all of whom had had 
broad experience in directing and supervising high school instruc- 
tion, was selected. This staff met and gave a day to a careful 
analytical study of the plan and to training in its use. Definite 
written instructions were given each person as to the methods of 
observation and the recording of data. 

This observation staff studied class-room work in 61 different 
rural high schools, located in every section of the state, and includ- 
ing all types, based on number of pupils enrolled. One hundred 
and seventy-nine recitations were observed, as taught by 144 differ- 
ent instructors in the subjects most commonly offered in the rural 
high schools. This data, when tabulated, showed remarkable 
agreement as to the predominant characteristics of the class-room 
instruction in the rural high schools of the state. 

In brief, the following were the outstanding characteristics found. 
Many instances of teaching strong in certain respects were noted. 
Almost no time was wasted by instructors in beginning the work 
of the recitation. In the main the instructors were earnest and 
conscientious in their work. Sixty-six percent of the instructors 
observed gave evidence of definite preparation for the recitation 
and 34 percent had apparently made little or no preparation. In 
26 percent of the classes observed the pupils were inattentive, and 
in approximately 25 percent they were disorderly. The most 
frequent causes for this condition, as given by the observers, were : 
Formal, lifeless treatment of the subject; lack of stimulation; no 
aim to the recitation; nothing for the pupils to do; lack of prepara- 
tion on the part of the pupils; and, instructor took up all the time. 
7 97 



In practically one-half of the recitations observed only one minute 
or less was consumed in making the assignment for the following 
day's work. This means that practically no attempt was made to 
motivate the pupil by indicating the methods of preparing the 
lesson, by pointing out the important items in the assignment, in 
suggesting supplementary sources, or in giving stimulating problems 
or topics the consideration of which would have led toward the 
desired results. 

Each subject was taught practically from a single text-book. 
Almost no supplementary materials in the way either of readings 
or of devices to make teaching more concrete were used. A large 
proportion of the work observed may be characterized as having 
been informational, with emphasis upon the memorizing of a mass 
of comparatively unorganized material. It lacked definiteness and 
immediacy of aim; in general, no real objectives stood out as the 
goal to be attained. But little of the teaching was of the type to 
stimulate pupils to initiative, to the evaluation of material, or to 
the assuming of personal responsibility for results. But little use 
was made of the assignment as an integral part of the teaching 
process. The work in the class-room, in the main, was formal and 
abstract. 

The Curriculum 

Any discussion of the curriculum of a school or type of schools 
that is to be more than a mere cataloguing of facts as to existing 
conditions must be based upon principles underlying curriculum 
building. It must evaluate the elements of the curriculum in the 
light of the purpose which it is to serve, by the objectives in the 
attainment of which it is one of the predominant means. It is 
from this viewpoint that the present study Of the curriculum of 
the rural high schools of New York is made and that suggestions 
for improvement are offered. 

In the first place it is assumed that the rural high school is an 
institution maintained by the people of the community and state 
for the purpose of promoting and continuing in the individual of 
secondary school age the development begun in the elementary 
school. It is assumed also that it will be adapted in its work to the 
stage of maturity, interests, and capacities of its pupils, and that 

98 



its fundamental aim is the guidance and stimulation of the pupil 
in the development of his abilities so as to enable him to meet most 
intelligently and efficiently the demands of modern life, both im- 
mediately and later as an adult. In serving its ultimate purpose 
most economically and adequately as regards each pupil it is deemed 
evident that the curriculum will gradually become differentiated 
in the high school into two or more fairly distinct curricula, each 
built about a special core of subjects designed to meet the needs of 
particular groups of pupils. Each curriculum will, in addition, 
contain certain subjects closely related to the core, and certain 
subjects, constant for all high school curricula, regarded by society 
as desirable for all secondary school pupils. 

In the second place it is assumed that the fundamental purpose 
of the high school is the same, whether it is situated in the city or in 
a rural or village community. In either case its ultimate aim is 
individual and social efficiency. Because of differences in the 
experience background of rural high school pupils as contrasted 
with city high school pupils, however, it is probable that, even for 
the attainment of objectives common to both types of high schools, 
differences in subject matter may be advisable. Because of differ- 
ences in life purposes of the pupil population, it seems probable 
also that certain of the objectives of the rural high school may be 
peculiar to itself. In conclusion it seems that the problem of the 
rural high school is to attain most effectively the objectives of the 
secondary school, with the pupil population it has and with the life 
contacts which this pupil population possesses already and will need 
to make. 

The basic principle, then, by which ultimately any unit of the 
educational system must be evaluated, is the extent to which, with 
the time and materials at its command, and with regard to the 
maturity and capacities of its pupils, it succeeds in developing 
persons individually and socially efficient. This principle implies 
the constant adjustment of the school to the needs and demands 
of the society by which it is maintained. It implies that the school 
exists for the training of the individuals whom it is designed to 
serve to meet, in the ablest fashion, their problems both while in 
school and later in life, and to realize life in its fullness. 

99 



The Existing Curriculum. — The following percentages, taken 
with reference to the schools offering certain subjects and based 
upon the report to the State Department of the 609 rural high 
schools for 1919-20, show in brief the subjects receiving most atten- 
tion in the rural high schools. This report shows that practically 
all schools gave a year of English for each year of work offered. 
Ninety-five percent of the schools gave Latin I; 92 percent Latin II; 
56 percent Latin III; 75 percent gave French I; 69 percent French 
II; 10 percent Spanish I; and approximately 8 percent Spanish II. 
Ninety-nine percent of the schools gave elementary algebra; 64 
percent intermediate algebra; 12 percent advanced algebra; 88 
percent plane geometry; 20 percent solid geometry; and 10 percent 
trigonometry. A fraction over 77 percent gave ancient history 
and 76 percent American history. Three percent of the schools 
gave economics; none sociology; approximately 7 percent gave 
agriculture and 11 percent home making. 

Subjects Required for Graduation. — Three hundred and 
eighty-five schools reported as to the subjects required of all pupils 
for graduation. All those replying required four years of English. 
Over 36 percent of the 385 schools required Latin I; almost an equal 
percent required Latin II. Over 24 percent required French I, 
and practically the same percent required French II. Practically 
all the schools reporting required elementary algebra and plane 
geometry, while over 16 percent required intermediate algebra. 
Ancient history was required by over 30 percent of the schools 
reporting, and American history by all the schools. 

Elective Subjects. — The same schools reporting on subjects 
offered as electives showed that beyond the more formal subjects 
usually regarded as college preparatory there was practically no 
opportunity for election in the rural high schools. A pupil who did 
not expect to go to college could not get, in the majority of cases, 
subjects of more practical or immediate value to him. The elec- 
tives were in the main in the foreign languages, in advanced mathe- 
matics, in physics and chemistry, and in ancient and modern 
European history. Three percent of the schools offered economics 
as an elective. Seventeen percent offered commercial arithmetic, 
and practically the same percent offered commercial geography. 



Seven percent offered mechanical drawing. Other subjects, 
mainly of the commercial type, were offered by small numbers of 
schools. Agriculture and home making were offered by 6 and 11 
percent respectively. 

The Distribution of the Pupils' Time in the Various Sub- 
jects. — A study of 184 rural high schools chosen at random from 
the schools of each class, classification being made on the basis of 
number of pupils enrolled, showed that the pupils' time and energy 
were given in the following percents to the various subjects. These 
percents are computed on the basis of all pupils enrolled in each 
subject, taking into account the number of periods given each 
subject per week and estimating each pupil's program as being four 
subjects a day. 

Table 14. — Percentage of Pupils' Time Given to Various Subjects 
Throughout the Rural High School Course 

Percent 

English 23.67 

Latin 13.01 

French 6.74 

Spanish 0.89 

Mathematics 17.68 

Physical sciences (physics and chemistry) 2.91 

Physical geography 0.70 

Biologic sciences (biology, botany, zoology, and physiology) 7.66 

Foreign history 5.86 

American history and civics 6.01 

Economics 0.06 

Sociology 0.00 

Study of occupations 0.00 

Agriculture 1.30 

Home making 1.67 

Mechanical drawing, wood-turning, machine-shop 0.48 

Commercial subjects 5.99 

Miscellaneous subjects 5.37 

The above data indicate that over 44 percent of the pupil's time 
and energy is given to the study of languages, including English, or 
almost 21 percent excluding English. In other words, over one- 
fifth of all the time the rural boy or girl spends in high school is 
devoted to the study of a foreign language. Almost 18 percent of 
his time is given to mathematics, as compared with 11.27 percent 
given to all the other sciences. In other words, he gives more 
time to the study of mathematics than he gives to the natural 



sciences and the social sciences, including American history and 
civics, but excluding foreign history. He gives as much time to the 
study of foreign languages as he gives to natural sciences, agricul- 
ture, and the social sciences, excluding foreign history. 

All the data given and other facts not included in this report 
increase the doubt as to the degree to which the rural high school is 
serving the ends for which it should exist. All findings tend to 
emphasize a small number of outstanding characteristics with 
respect to the curriculum: 

1. It is restricted in the main to the older, more formal, sub- 
jects of study. 

2. The aim and objectives for the program of studies as a whole 
and for the separate subjects are vague and remote, except that the 
passing of the Regents examinations is an end prominent in the 
teaching of every academic subject. 

3. The instruction in the subjects offered is formal and bookish, 
being unduly limited to a single text-book for each course. 

4. There is a strong tendency toward a slavish following of 
the state syllabi, resulting in an undue uniformity of subject matter, 
with a consequent neglect of possible local adaptations, this condi- 
tion being aggravated by a system of uniform state examinations. 

5. There is too much attention given to preparation for exami- 
nations, resulting in general in overemphasis of mechanical memor- 
izing and in underemphasis of the more vital elements of real intel- 
lectual development. 

6. In general there is a lack of recognition of the educational 
values of extra-class-room activities. 

7. And, finally, as indicated by the percentage of failures in all 
academic subjects in the rural high school, neither the subject mat- 
ter nor the standards of achievement seem to be suited to the 
maturity and abilities of rural high school pupils. 

Recommendations 

1. The purposes, or objectives, of rural secondary education 
should be defined as clearly and specifically as possible. 

2. It is suggested that those responsible for the administration, on 
the part of the state, of rural secondary education should utilize the 



services of an advisory committee, composed of lay and professional 
people, in formulating these objectives and in determining upon 
methods of attaining them. 

3. The curricula should be revised in the light of these objectives. 

(a) This task should be recognized as a joint one for state, inter- 
mediate, and local units. 

(b) The function of the state may be largely fulfilled by the prep- 
aration of syllabi that will contain, in general: (1) A statement of 
the objectives to be sought and suggested subject matter suitable 
for their attainment; (2) a broad outline of the possible content of 
the subject; (3) a statement of principles underlying the selection 
and organization of teaching content and of the most approved 
methods of presenting it ; (4) suggestive lists of supplementary read- 
ings, sources, and educational materials valuable in the teaching of 
the subject. 

(c) Particular attention should be given to a selection of the ele- 
ments of economics, sociology, civics, etc., for the development of an 
intelligent citizenship, and general science as a means for securing a 
vitalized introduction to all the sciences, and for its direct values for 
those who do not stay in the high school for any considerable part 
of the course. 

(d) Less time should be given to the study of foreign language, 
and all work in foreign languages, whether ancient or modern, 
should be made elective for pupils not planning to enter college. 

(e) Intermediate algebra, advanced algebra, and trigonometry, 
particularly the last two, should receive less consideration in the 
rural high school, and not more than one year of mathematics 
should be required of pupils not preparing for college. 

(/) A course should be developed in the study of occupations as a 
means of acquainting pupils with the opportunities for vocational 
service and as a basis for guidance in the intelligent choice of a 
vocation. 

(g) In general, more attention should be given to literary, debat- 
ing, musical, athletic, and similar activities as an important sup- 
plement to regular class-room instruction. 

(h) It is generally admitted that efficient home making is of basic 
importance in the welfare of the home and of good citizenship. For 

103 



this reason, and the further fact that a large percentage of the girls 
who attend high school will follow the vocation of home making, it 
is recommended that the desirability of establishing courses in 
home making in every rural high school in the state receive con- 
sideration. It is suggested that such courses be so enriched and 
broadened as to meet in the fullest possible manner the home and 
community needs. Students should be encouraged to take such 
courses and they should receive credit on the same basis as academic 
subjects. Emphasis should be given to the problem of getting col- 
leges to accept work in this subject toward admission. 

4. The organization in the rural communities of junior high 
schools as the first unit in secondary education should be encour- 
aged, and the state aid granted should be on the same basis as for 
regular high schools. 

5. As a means of securing more favorable teaching conditions, the 
following suggestions are made: 

(a) After 1927, or as soon thereafter as is feasible, the lowest 
certificate accepted for high school teaching should be the College 
Graduate Professional Limited Certificate, good for five years, and 
renewable for one additional term of five years, and requiring a 
minimum of twelve semester hours of professional training. 
£_ (b) Teachers' certificates should, so far as feasible, limit the num- 
ber of different subjects for which the teachers are licensed.^ 

(c) More attention should be given to providing buildings and 
equipment that will enable the rural high school to attain more 
nearly its objectives. 

(d) More effective plans for teaching pupils how to study should 
be developed. 

(e) The number of periods of instruction required of teachers 
should in many schools be reduced. 

(/) The state should provide more adequate facilities for the 
training of both teachers and principals. 

6. More favorable supervisory conditions should be provided. 

(a) The state should confine its activities in this direction to in- 
spection and to incidental supervision. 

(b) The detailed supervision of class-room instruction and of 
school organization should be in the hands of the professional offi- 

104 



cers of intermediate and local units, in accordance with the general 
plans outlined in the administrative section of this report. 

(c) Certificates valid for high school supervision should require, 
in addition to other professional training, at least six semester 
hours in school administration, organization, and supervision. 

(d) More specific definitions as to the high school principal's 
duties, powers, and responsibilities should be set up. 

(e) In order that the principal may have time for supervision, the 
amount of teaching required of him should be reduced. 

7. The state should encourage the constant improvement of rural 
schools by providing one or more classes of standard schools in 
which minimum requirements should be set on such factors as num- 
ber of teachers, maximum number of classes per teacher, buildings, 
equipment, and provision for supervision. 



i©5 



CHAPTER VII 

THE NEW YORK STATE SYSTEM OF EXAMINA- 
TIONS AS RELATED TO THE RURAL SCHOOLS 

I. An Outstanding Feature of the New York State 
School System 

ONE of the features of the New York state system of public 
schools to which educational officers frequently refer with a 
good deal of pride is the system of examinations commonly 
known as the "Regents examinations." As a system, it is far more 
elaborate than that of any other state in the country. Such remarks 
as, "There is nothing like it in the country! " are often heard. This 
is true. In the number of examinations and in the number of pupils 
examined, in the number of persons employed in its conduct, in the 
cost in money and in time of school officers, the New York system 
goes much farther than any other state. North Dakota is the closest 
rival among the states. According to the Fifteenth Biennial Report 
of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1918, the total cost of 
maintenance of a system of " eighth grade and high school exami- 
nations was $9,261.71." A report prepared by the Chief of the 
Division of Examinations and Inspections in the New York State 
Department of Education showed that the cost of maintenance of 
the division for 1918-19 was $135,140. Subtracting the $10,370 
chargeable to professional examinations, and the $34,870 represent- 
ing salaries of field workers, we have $89,900 as a figure fairly com- 
parable with that above for North Dakota. In this figure are in- 
cluded the following items: Salaries of the executive group, salaries 
of the group handling teachers' and academic examinations, salaries 
of the group handling examinations for admission to study of pro- 
fessions, salaries of temporary examiners, temporary clerks and 
stenographers, proctors, expenses of examinations' committees, and 

106 



printing. The figure for 1920-21, comparable with the $89,900 for 
1918-19, was $107,170. This indicates something of the increasing 
cost of maintenance. That there must be continued increase in size 
of appropriation for this division if the work of examining and 
inspecting is to be carried on as at present is clearly set forth by the 
director in the report referred to. 

Hawaii and the Philippine Islands have more elaborate systems 
than any of the states other than New York. However, as long ago 
as 1916 the authorities in charge in Hawaii were moving in the 
direction of substituting the use of standard tests for the uniform 
old-type examinations. In the Twentieth Annual Report the Di- 
rector of Education for the Philippine Islands, 1919, said: 

"As has been said before, this office is not wholly in accord with 
the idea of giving uniform final examinations throughout the entire 
school system, but as yet, from a practical standpoint, this seems 
more desirable. To lessen the evil resulting from too much uni- 
formity, sample examination questions are requested from all parts 
of the Islands to be sent to the general office, where a committee 
chooses suitable questions and gets them into final shape to be used 
in the schools. Care is taken to guard against too much favoritism, 
and attention is devoted to the selection of questions which really 
test a pupil's fitness for promotion. Since this procedure, even at 
best, is not entirely satisfactory, gradual steps are to be taken to 
decentralize the work of giving final examinations by placing some 
more of this work in the hands of division superintendents." 

That the New York State Department of Education is looking in 
the direction of a less rigid system of examinations is indicated by 
the following facts: 

1. Credit is granted on certificate for approved courses conducted 
in the schools in which no Regents examinations are held, and also 
for approved courses pursued by high school pupils outside of school. 

2. Credit toward examination is given for oral work in modern 
languages and for the literature in the high school English courses 
when the instruction is given by approved teachers. 

3. Credit is given on certificate for all advanced drawing courses, 
as well as for all courses in domestic science, agriculture, and shop 
work. 

107 



4. A special form of academic diploma has been adopted for tech- 
nical high schools in which a large part of the work is accepted on 
certificate. 

5. The new alternative form of academic diploma has been 
adopted, which may be used in approved schools and which requires 
examinations in but little more than one-half of the subject matter 
of the course. 

It appears, however, that these provisions affect primarily the 
larger, better organized schools, and that they lie in the direction of 
reduction of the scope of examinations rather than in a modification 
of their essential nature. 

The fact remains that we in New York state have something 
much more extensive than other states in the way of machinery for 
examining school pupils. Some questions naturally arise. Is it 
such as warrants the great cost in time and money? Granted, for the 
sake of the argument, that the ends sought are well worth the cost, 
are they achieved proportionately better than in other states and 
by other methods? Further, are there any undesirable effects which 
tend to offset whatever advantages there may be in the system? It 
is the purpose in this section to present some facts and figures on 
these questions. 

II. Brief Descriptive Statement of the Grade, Preliminary, 
and Academic Examinations 

While most school patrons and many others know more or less 
intimately how the New York state system of examinations 
operates, it seems worth while to make a brief statement descriptive 
of the three groups of examinations here considered, namely, the 
grade, preliminary, and academic examinations. 

The grade examinations are prepared by a committee of district 
superintendents chosen by the Association of District Superinten- 
dents. The papers are edited, printed, and distributed by the State 
Department of Education. At present they include the subjects of 
reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, English, physiology and 
hygiene, spelling, drawing, nature study and agriculture, and his- 
tory, representing the work of the fifth, sixth, and seventh grades, 
as outlined in the state elementary course of study. It should be 

i©8 



noted that these grade examinations are not issued by the State 
Department and are not strictly a part of the system of Regents 
examinations. Their use is not required by the State Department. 
On the other hand, those in the department responsible for examina- 
tions express themselves as not favoring these grade examinations. 
That they are commonly thought of by pupils, teachers, and patrons 
as having the sanction of the state educational authorities appears 
unquestionable. On the basis of an inquiry of district superinten- 
dents it can be said that the tests are in general, though not uni- 
versal, use in the rural schools of the state. Their use in January is 
more general than in June, since many schools are closed at the time 
the question papers are issued in June. The answer papers are 
ordinarily rated by the teachers, but may be reviewed by the district 
superintendent. 

The preliminary examinations were provided for by act of the 
Board of Regents in July, 1864, for the purpose of determining who 
should be classed as "academic" pupils, and therefore be counted in 
the apportionment of the Literature Fund. They have since that 
time been recognized as the most convenient means of determining 
admission to high school, and are now very generally used for that 
purpose. There is no requirement that they be so used. "Admis- 
sion to high school may be determined by any superintendent or 
principal in some other way upon proper arrangement with the 
Department." 1 "Standings in reading and writing may be deter- 
mined by principals on an examination set by the principal at any 
convenient time during examination week in January or June after 
the pupils have completed the work of the eighth grade." 2 From 
the time of institution of these examinations in 1865, "up to 1870, 
the examination papers were read and rated at the school and only 
results were reported to the Regents, but now the same difficulty 
arose as before. The standards of rating were different. Papers 
that would be claimed at one school would be rejected at another, 
and as a result it was ordered in February, 1870, that all papers that 
were thought to have reached a passing mark should be sent to the 

1 Tenth annual report of the State Department of Education, p. 433. 

2 University of the State of New York, Handbook 3 — Examinations, 1920, 
p. 23. 

109 



Regents office for review." 1 This practice continued until 1905, 
when the plan was instituted of having the papers rated locally but 
sent to the Department subject to revision. 2 The questions for 
examination in spelling, elementary English, arithmetic, geography, 
and elementary history and civics are prepared by committees ap- 
pointed by the State Examinations Board. In November, 1920, by 
action of the Board of Regents, the policy was adopted of " accept- 
ing in lieu of the preliminary certificate the credentials which the 
city school authorities issue on the completion of the work of the 
eighth grade as the equivalent of the preliminary certificate." 

The academic examinations were instituted in June, 1878, in con- 
sequence of resolutions offered at the University Convocations of 
the years 1866 and 1871, and the legislation of June 6, 1877, in order 
to "furnish a suitable standard for graduation from academies and 
academic departments of union schools, and of the admission to the 
several colleges of the state." 3 "When the academic examinations 
were first instituted in 1878, and for many years thereafter, the 
question papers for these examinations were prepared by the secre- 
tary of the Regents, with some little assistance which he was able 
to get from outside, and down to 1907 the papers were all prepared 
by members of the staff." 4 Since that time they have been pre- 
pared by committees appointed by the State Examinations Board 
and reviewed by a committee of this board. The papers are rated 
locally and sent to the State Department of Education for review. 
The practice has grown up of accepting the ratings of the schools on 
a good many papers under conditions considered as offering assur- 
ance to the department that the rating is satisfactory. The table 
on page 111 indicates something of the growth and present magni- 
tude of this phase of the examination system. 

All three of these groups of examinations touch very closely the 
rural school as defined in this survey. As has been said, the grade 
examinations are designed especially for the schools outside of vil- 
lages and cities. The pupils in the open-country schools find their 
admission to village and city high schools generally conditioned 

1 University of the State of New York, Bulletin No. 575, p. 10. 

2 Eighth Annual Report of the State Department of Education, p. 146. 

3 Bulletin No. 575, p. 11. « Bulletin No. 575, p. 12. 



upon passing the preliminary examinations. After admission to a 
high school the rural school pupil, of course, becomes subject to the 
academic examinations. A study of the rural schools of the state 
involves a consideration of this very important instrument in the 
administration of the schools. 

Table 15. — Showing the Growth and Present Magnitude of the 
Academic Examinations. 



Year 


Number of High 
Schools and 
Academies 


Total Number 
Papers 
Written 


Total Number 

Papers 

Accepted 


1878 
1913 
1920 


94 
889 
975 


2,934 
404,576 
466,628 


1,126 
288,194 
330,226 



III. The Examinations as a Means of Standardizing the Work 

of Schools 

The chief purpose in all these examinations has been and is now 
the setting up of standards of achievement for schools and individ- 
ual pupils, whether, as was originally the case, as a basis for appor- 
tionment of funds solely, or as now, as a basis for granting cer- 
tificates of fitness for promotion and graduation. This appears 
clearly in the publications on the subject by the State Department 
of Education, and also in the replies received from high school 
principals and district superintendents. 

That the state examinations in New York did at their inception 
aid and have since aided very much in making for a more uniform 
product in the schools will not be questioned by any one conversant 
with the facts. The position here taken is that, as at present con- 
ceived and conducted, they do not serve that purpose as well as it 
might be served by bringing them more in line with modern scientific 
methods of educational measurement. 

The facts at hand indicate clearly that this purpose is not 
achieved to the degree that is possible and in the way that experi- 
ence has shown is most useful. Space will not permit here the 
presentation of the full argument in support of this statement. It 
will have to suffice to present only two outstanding factors, which, 



on the basis of what is known of mental life, make very unlikely the 
achievement of a useful sort and degree of standardization of 
achievements of schools and of pupils by the methods employed, 
followed by some evidence of the actual working of the system. 

1. Unstandardized Nature of the Examinations. — The first 
factor is the unstandardized nature of the examinations. It is not 
possible for a small group of people, however well trained in the 
subject in question, to make an adequate examination on the basis 
of their own judgment, which shall have a known degree of diffi- 
culty as a whole and as to its parts. And yet this is implied when 
a test is used for purposes of standardization. In order to deter- 
mine whether school pupils or schools reach a certain standard, that 
standard must be known. To say that all pupils who achieve 60 
percent on an examination pass means nothing more than just that, 
unless the difficulty of the examination is known; that is, unless 
it is known, from previous examination of school children, how 
well they do on it. To illustrate: Suppose a set of questions be 
given to a large number of eighth grade pupils in one-room schools 
in various parts of the state, and it is found that only 50 percent 
of the pupils answer the questions with 60 percent accuracy. Then, 
if this test were given to the eighth grade pupils in a given school, 
it might fairly be expected that half of them would make this 
passing grade of 60 percent. 1 That is, the commonly accepted 
method of measuring achievements of pupils and schools is to use a 
test standardized in some such way. Such procedure is not at 
present followed in the examinations in question. 

2. Unreliability of Ratings. — The other factor of the two 
suggested is the unreliability of the ratings given on answer papers 
to such examinations as those in question. That is to say, there 
is no certainty that the rating made on a certain paper by a given 
reader is the true rating. This is true of even the most carefully 
standardized objective tests, but the ratings are very much more 
unreliable in the case of examinations of the unstandardized nature 
of those in question. The unreliability of ratings has been so well 

1 Assuming the pupils of this grade represent average mental capacity for the 
grade. The need of getting a measure of mental capacity is another important 
matter in our examination of school-children. 



established that it was thought not worth while to make a special 
study in this connection. The State Department of Education has 
recognized this fact of unreliability of ratings and has taken mea- 
sures to guard against it. As early as 1870 the preliminary exami- 
nation papers were sent to Albany to be rated. Since that time, 
however, chiefly because of the enormous burden of rating papers at 
Albany, the practice has grown of depending more and more on 
local ratings. Furthermore, those responsible for the rating of 
papers at Albany have exercised great care and considerable ingen- 
uity in striving to make the ratings reliable. But the assumption 
that the ratings by the department readers are the true ratings is 
wholly unwarranted even when two or three readers rate the same 
paper, which, in the very nature of the case, cannot be done in any 
large proportion of the papers. It may be stated as a fact, for 
which ample evidence could be presented, that the ratings of answer 
papers for examinations of the sort in question are not reliable 
enough to justify the great reliance placed upon them as a basis for 
promoting or holding back pupils. The following is quoted from 
the work of a famous English statistician who made a careful study 
of the statistics of examination ratings, F. Y. Edgeworth: 1 

"... in spite of conscious efforts to maintain constancy, 
it would not be unreasonable, I think, to assume a probable error 
of 4 or 5 percent, due to the factors under consideration. Thus, 
supposing there was no real difference between the papers in Me- 
chanics of this year and the preceding, that the real average, so to 
speak, of both sets of papers was 150, yet in the sortition of ex- 
aminers it is as likely as not that the average may be pushed up to 
156 or down to 144." 

He quotes Dr. Venn, "an experienced examiner, who is also one 
of the highest living authorities on statistics," as saying, "I have 
frequently raised or depressed my own marks (or my colleagues') 
by as much as 25 percent all through in order to bring them into 
general harmony." 

In an investigation in which he had 28 well-qualified persons rate 
a Latin examination paper, he found "the probable error on either 

1 Examinations and Their Relation to Culture and Efficiency, P. T. Hartog, 
p. 109. 

8 113 



side of the correct mark to be 5." That is, assuming the correct 
mark to be the average of all the marks given, the chances are even 
that the mark by any one of the readers will differ from the correct 
mark by as much as five points out of the 100. Practically, this 
means that if a pupil receives a mark of 60, he is as likely as not to 
have a true mark of 55 or 65. 

3. Variation in Percent of Written Papers Claimed by 
Schools and Accepted by Regents. — We have seen that the 
nature of the examination and the methods of rating are not 
such as to promote effectively the standardization of schools. 
We have further evidence in the actual working of the system. 
The reader is asked to bear in mind that standardization of the 
work of pupils and schools is sought through the use of examinations 
regarding which it is determined in advance that papers, to be 
accepted, must reach a given percent — 60 on most examinations. 
The following are set down as propositions that will be accepted : 

(1) The ability of school pupils in a given subject, say, beginning 
algebra, will not vary greatly for the whole state from year to 
year. 

(2) The ability of teachers to teach this subject will not vary 
greatly for the whole state from year to year, except possibly at 
fairly well-defined intervals, as during the war, when some teachers 
of German were asked to teach Spanish and French with inade- 
quate preparation. 

(3) The subject matter taught will not vary greatly except at 
fairly well-defined intervals, the effects of which may be noted. 

(4) It seems fair to assume that approximately the same per- 
centage of pupils should achieve a passing grade in the various sub- 
jects of the school course if the work is adjusted to the needs of the 
pupils. 

A study of the statistical reports on the Regents academic ex- 
aminations reveals four important facts: 1 

(a) The percentage of pupils writing examinations who achieve a 
passing grade varies greatly for the same subject from year to year. 
This may be seen from Diagram 3. This diagram shows for biol- 

1 From a study by Superintendent W. H. McClelland, of Perry, N. Y., to be 
included in full in a later report. 

114 



Percent 
100 



Biology 



25 



\ ^ 

> 



189S 



1905 1910 

Elementary Algebra 



1920 



75 






-s^\ y\. 






SO 


V^ 


r ^^ 


-s^^rsz 




T 


""^^^^^ 


?S 


























1895 



1905 1910 
Physics 



1915 



1920 



100 




1895 



1900 



1905 1910 
American History 



1915 



1920 



100 




1895 



1900 



1905 



1910 



1920 



Diagram 3. — Showing the percent of those Regents examination papers 
written which were claimed by schools (solid line) and the percent which were 
accepted by the Regents (dash line) for four academic subjects, by years 



"5 



ogy, elementary algebra, physics, and American history the percent- 
age of pupils writing the examinations in these subjects who achieved 
a passing grade according to the school ratings (solid line) and the 
percentage according to Regents ratings (dash line). Or, as it is 
commonly stated, the percentage of papers "claimed" by the 
schools and the percentage "accepted" by the Regents. The 
entries are by years, from 1906 to 1920 for biology, and from 1896 
to 1920 for the other subjects. The scale is too small to permit 
exact readings. Ordinarily, only approximations are used in what 
follows. When exact percentages are used, they are taken from 
the tables from which the curves of this figure were drawn. The 
figure shows, for example, that in biology, in 1907 approximately 
85 percent of the papers written were accepted, while in 1920 only 
slightly more than 50 percent were accepted. (See dash line. 
The exact figures are 88 and 52.) In elementary algebra the range 
is from below 50 percent in 1897 to above 75 percent in 1907. The 
curves for physics and American history show even greater varia- 
tion: approximately from 35 percent in 1897 to 80 percent in 1902 
for physics, and from 25 percent in 1898 to 90 percent in 1919 for 
American history. The curves show that the percent accepted one 
year may be much larger than that accepted the next year. For 
example, in physics 36 percent were accepted in 1897, while the 
next year 63 percent were accepted. In American history the 
corresponding figures for 1898 and 1899 were 23 percent and 61 
percent. 

(b) The curves of this figure show further that while in general 
the percentage of papers claimed by the teachers (solid line) is 
greater than the percentage accepted by the Regents (dash line), 
there is great variation in the amount of this difference. This may 
be seen by the lack of parallelism between the solid and the dash 
lines in each subject. The greatest deviations from parallelism 
are to be noted in the curves for biology and American history. 
Further, there is great variation in the average amount of this 
difference between the percent claimed and the percent allowed 
among the different subjects. For example, this difference is very 
much greater in American history than in algebra. 

(c) The percentage of pupils writing examinations who achieve a 

n6 



passing grade by Regents ratings varies greatly among the different 
subjects for a given year. Diagram 4 presents the situation for 
1920. It shows that 63 percent of the pupils writing elementary 
algebra achieved a passing grade, while for biology the percentage 
is 53, for Caesar 67, and so on. Space permits showing only one 
year. While other years show different percentages for various 




eg 
a* 

S3 



Ec5 (5 



<s 



St 


•ss 


ja 






Med 

C L- 


"3 
c 


S 




wo 


w 


&4 


<K 



Diagram 4. — Showing the percent of those Regents examination papers written 
which were accepted in 12 academic subjects for the year 1920 



subjects, as was shown in Diagram 3, the amount of variation 
among subjects as shown for 1920 is typical. 

(d) The question may now be asked, May it not be, while the 
different subjects show greatly varying percentages of accepted 
papers in any given year, that the relationship among subjects is 
maintained? That is, may it not be that algebra consistently 
shows a smaller percentage of accepted papers than biology, for 

117 



example? Such, however, is not the case, as may be seen from 
Diagram 5. It shows the following situation: 

In 1908 65 percent were accepted in elementary algebra. 

" biology. 



In 1914 65 
64 

In 1920 63 
53 



" elementary algebra. 
" biology. 

" elementary algebra. 
" biology. 




Eg 




^M 




a 


8-6 

a 1> 


O 


C 1) 


S2 

o 


C ctf 






<u M 




cu cm 












w< 


03 


W< 


m 


W< 


1908 




1914 




1 



Diagram 5. — Showing the percent of those Regents examination papers 
written which were accepted in each of two academic subjects for each of three 
years 



Thus it is seen that while in 1908 a much larger percentage were 
accepted in biology than in algebra, in 1914 approximately the 
same percentages were accepted in both; while in 1920 the situa- 

n8 



tion was the reverse of that in 1908, an appreciably larger per- 
centage being accepted in algebra than in biology. 

We have here evidence that there is great variation either in the 
difficulty of the examinations from year to year and from subject 
to subject in terms of the percentage of pupils writing who achieve 
a passing grade, or great variation in the rating of the papers, or 
both. We have seen that, on the basis of our knowledge of men- 
tality, variation in both is much to be expected. 

It seems fair to conclude that the chief purpose for which the 
examinations are designed, that is, standardization of the work of 
pupils and schools, at present is not achieved in the useful sense of 
that term. 



IV. Outstanding Features of the System as it Works 

1. Cost in Terms or Time of Pupils. 1 — If any manufacturer 
found it necessary to run his raw material through a long and ex- 
pensive process, say a half-year or a year in length, a second time 
in order to get a satisfactory product, he might be expected to 
consider whether his machinery was working at its best, or whether 
he was setting too rigid a standard of satisfactoriness. The rural 
high schools of this state, reported in an extensive study represent- 
ing a total enrolment of 36,337, had during the past year 22.3 per- 
cent of their pupils repeating at least one course once or more. Of 
this 22.3 percent, 18.4 percent were repeating once and the others 
two or more times. Fifty-four pupils were repeating the fourth time. 
In addition to the heavy money cost involved, this eventually 
results in delay of completion of the school course and entrance upon 
productive labor. 

The table on page 120 shows further that the largest percentage 
of repeaters is in the schools with smallest number of pupils. For 
the schools with less than 50 pupils the percentages are 29.9 and 
28.1 for the schools of less than four years and of four years re- 
spectively. In schools of 150 pupils and over, on the other hand, 
only 16 percent are repeating. 

1 For financial cost see Section I, this chapter. 
119 



Table 16. — Showing Percent of Pupils Repeating at Least One Course 




Less 
Than 
Four 
Years 


Four Years or More 




1-49 
Pupils 


1-49 
Pupils 


50-99 
Pupils 


100-149 
Pupils 


150 and 
More 
Pupils 


All 


Total enrolment .... 

Percent of pupils re- 
peating at least 
one course 


966 
29.9 


7118 
28.1 


13,759 
23.7 


8829 
18.6 


5665 
16.0 


36,337 
22.3 



It is significant to note in this connection that while New York 
ranks twenty-sixth among the states in the number of pupils 
enrolled in high schools per 1000 of population, she drops to thirtieth 
rank in number of pupils graduating at eighteen years of age. 

Again, if a manufacturer has to scrap an appreciable portion of 
his material after much time has been spent working on it, he will 
feel the need of more careful scrutiny of raw material, inspection of 
processes and finished product. For the past decade approxi- 
mately 30 percent of the pupils writing Regents examinations 
failed to achieve a passing grade. Note this does not mean that 
30 percent of the pupils in the high schools failed to receive a 
passing grade, but 30 percent of those writing the examinations; 
and it is the well-known open practice in some schools to have only 
those pupils write who give promise of passing, even though others 
continue in the class through the term. It is like scrapping 
30 percent of the finished manufactured product. Comparative 
figures show that in other school systems the percentage of enrolled 
students who fail ranges from 7 to 20 percent, with very few above 
15 percent. 

It may be urged that the product is so superior as to warrant the 
extra cost. Following are the results of a study of 328 Cornell 
University students who entered on the basis of Regents examina- 
tions and 223 who entered otherwise. The median (average) grade 
for the Regents group in the University was 73.7, and for the non- 
Regents group, 70.7. This difference is partially offset by the fact 



that in an intelligence test the Regents group ranked one point 
higher. It would appear, therefore, that the difference in the prod- 
uct, assuming the system of examinations to be the chief factor, 
would not warrant the procedure followed at the great price paid. 

2. Effect on the Teaching in the Schools. — Reports by six 
practised observers who observed the whole of 145 recitations in 52 
village schools in different sections of the state show that much of 
the teaching is devoted specifically toward preparing the pupils 
to pass the Regents examinations. In fact, this is such common 
practice that many teachers and principals would be surprised that 
any one should question the desirability of such a practice. Re- 
gents question-and-answer books are used much by teachers and 
pupils. High school principals and district superintendents, in 
answer to a question as to merits and defects of the system, make 
many statements such as the following: "They [the examinations] 
do not help in making the courses interesting, but encourage drill 
to pass an examination." There can be no doubt of the fact that 
the Regents examinations act as a strong stimulus to effort by 
teachers and pupils. The prizes are such as to appeal. The point 
here made, however, is that much of this activity is directed to the 
end of passing an examination at the cost of an understanding of 
the problems involved in subjects where understanding rather than 
mere acquisition of facts of a formal nature is the desirable end. 
That there may be much good resulting is not denied. That less 
emphasis on passing the examinations as the mark of achievement 
would, under proper teaching and supervising conditions, be de- 
sirable, is strongly urged. 

3. Attitude of School People. — There seems to be an opinion 
prevalent that school people in general strongly favor the system of 
examinations. In reply to an inquiry addressed to high school 
principals, a total of 246 replies was received. Of those replying, 
138 expressed approval and 108 disapproved. A similar inquiry 
was sent to the district superintendents. Of the 105 who replied, 
85 approved the examinations in general and 20 disapproved. 
Sixty-seven offered constructive criticism, the most frequently 
mentioned being that the June examinations come so late in the 
year that many schools are closed. 



It will be generally admitted that these figures probably over- 
state the true amount of approval and understate the amount of 
disapproval because of the hesitancy of most people to register dis- 
approval of a long-established, much-revered institution. This is 
particularly true of those people who are intimately identified with 
its administration. There is a good deal of evidence that the exami- 
nation system is regarded by many school people as a necessary evil, 
under existing conditions, particularly of many poorly prepared 
teachers and the lack of adequate, helpful supervision. 

4. Attitude of Rural People. — The committee issued a book- 
let calling for suggestions from rural people relative to the improve- 
ment of rural schools. Among other specific questions asked were 
some relating to the system of Regents examinations. Up to date, 
139 booklets have been examined, representing 4821 people from all 
parts of the state. In some cases the questions were answered by an 
individual. In most cases the answers represent the opinion of 
groups of people acting either as a body or through a representative 
committee. The results show that one-half of the people express 
approval of the examinations as they are, suggesting no change. 
The reasons given most commonly for favoring the examinations 
were that they keep up a standard and make for uniformity through- 
out the state, 15 percent offering the former and 19 percent the 
latter opinion. Essentially this means that 34 percent approve of 
them on the ground of their seeming to standardize the work of the 
schools. The reader is asked to note that this is an expression of a 
belief. 

The other half disapproved of them as they are, either in whole or 
in part. Of this 50 percent who voice disapproval, 7 percent favor 
abolishing the examinations, 31 percent would have them mate- 
rially modified, and 12 percent express their disapproval of certain 
features. Among these, the following stand out prominently: 

1. Examinations should be more closely related to the work of 
the average rural school. 

2. Children "cram" for examinations, to the detriment of other 
legitimate school procedures. 

3. Children tend to lose interest in a subject after passing the 
examination. 



4. It is unfair to have young children take examinations in a 
strange school among strangers. 

The most generally proposed constructive suggestion for im- 
provement was that children should be rated wholly or in part 
upon their daily work. Of all reporting, 34 percent expressed this 
opinion. The following replies are quoted as typical of the con- 
structive criticism offered: 

"The Regents examinations have introduced a certain standard 
which is desirable, though probably the standard could be main- 
tained in other ways. The examinations presuppose the dishonesty 
of the teacher; make no allowance for class-room work; place suc- 
cess in scholarship on an abnormal experience, where the pupil is 
under nervous strain and not able to do his best; provide no oppor- 
tunity for pupils temporarily unable to take test under a half-year." 
(Representing 60 people assembled.) 

"It would seem better to promote according to class work. Many 
pupils cram for examinations or fake. Then others are too nervous 
to do justice to an examination. Often questions are catchy, not 
essential to life's work, and unfair." 

5. Relation to Graduation. — The fact that returns on the June 
examinations are not received before the date set for graduation 
gives rise to considerable embarrassment to pupils, parents, and 
teachers. Of 342 schools reporting, 198 grant school diplomas con- 
ditionally on the basis of school ratings the last semester. In a 
number of schools the practice is followed of permitting all pupils 
who would graduate on the basis of the school ratings to participate 
in the formal exercises, being given unsigned diplomas, to be signed 
later or not, depending on the ratings from Albany. 

6. Some Unfortunate Results. — Entirely apart from the ques- 
tion as to whether the system of examinations achieves its chief 
purpose of standardization of the work of pupils and schools, and 
apart from the question of the cost involved, there are some conse- 
quences resulting, the mere stating of which may be helpful. 

(a) The success of the work for a term or a whole year is wholly 
dependent on the results of a single examination. That this is unfair 
is commonly recognized among teachers. The chance that a pupil 
poorly prepared may pass this single test, and, on the other hand, 

123 



the chance that a pupil well prepared may fail to do himself justice 
on a single test, is very great. Few of us would like to have our 
efficiency for the year determined in a three hours' trial. Further, 
the great injustice to the pupil who chances to be ill at the time of 
an examination, and therefore must delay taking the examination 
a half year or a year, is manifest. 

(b) Many teachers and principals urge as one of the advantages 
of a state system such as this that " they (the examinations) relieve 
them of the pressure which would otherwise be exerted by certain 
parents for the purpose of getting their children through the school 
without the necessity of doing the work." "A great boon for teach- 
ers who might not care to take the responsibility of failing child of 
influential parents." 

(c) The fact that the school ratings are reviewed at Albany affects 
school ratings in two ways, quite different each from the other, with 
consequent possibility of injustice to students. 

One procedure in the schools is indicated by the statement of a 
teacher that she "follows the policy of giving 60 percent if the paper 
is near that, preferring to have the State Department fail the pupil." 
It seemed significant that this teacher stated she made few appeals 
from the Department rating, saying it seemed not worth while. 
The other procedure is to claim only those papers which are con- 
sidered safely above the passing mark in order that few papers will 
be returned. To have few papers returned is much to the advan- 
tage of the teacher and principal, as this is regarded as a measure 
of teaching efficiency and of accuracy in rating. That some pupils 
may thus suffer injustice seems to be a secondary matter. 

id) The fact that teachers and principals are not considered 
capable of rating students' papers may be expected to have the 
effect of depriving teachers and principals somewhat of that respect 
for authority, on the part of pupils, which goes far toward making 
the proper relationship between pupil and teacher. 

V. Summary and Recommendations 
The position here taken is essentially as follows: 
The chief purpose for which the state uniform system of examina- 
tions is designed, standardization of the work of pupils and schools, 

124 



is not achieved, and in the nature of the case cannot be achieved by 
the methods employed. As a means of stimulating pupils and teach- 
ers to greater effort, a system of state-wide examinations of the kind 
in question is far inferior to skilful direction by local supervisors 
working with well-trained teachers. The cost of maintaining the 
system in terms of money, time of teachers and other school officers, 
and time of pupils, is not justified in the lack of evidence that the 
product — the trained boy or girl — is appreciably, if at all, superior 
to that of other systems. The system of examinations as at present 
conducted neglects to make use of some of the well-established 
means and methods of measuring the achievements of schools and 
school pupils, chiefly the standardized, objective test. 

The following assumptions are made: 

That there be effected a reorganization of the administration of 
the rural schools, involving: 

1. A local school unit larger than the district school. 

2. A unit intermediate between the local unit and the state, with 
large supervisory functions. 

That steps will be taken to raise the standards of qualifications 
for teachers to such a point as will provide a teaching staff com- 
parable with that of a good city school system. 

77 is recommended that: 

1. The responsibility for the determination of the examinations 
to be used and the certification of pupils rest with the local school 
authorities, under the general supervision of the professional officer 
of the intermediate unit. This recommendation is made with the 
understanding that it will not go into effect until the minimum 
standards for entrance to the teaching service become operative, 
and until the reorganization of the intermediate unit is accom- 
plished. 

2. The State Department of Education provide a staff with ser- 
vice and research functions in the field of educational measurement, 
cooperating with the local and intermediate rural school officers. 

Note. — Since the facilities of the Division of Examinations and 
Inspections would in very large part become released from the work 

125 



which now requires so much of their time, namely, the preparation 
of examinations and the reading of papers, they should become 
available for the purpose recommended above. New York state has 
here a unique opportunity to establish one of the most effective ser- 
vice institutions and research laboratories in the country without 
additional expenditure. 

Attention is further called to the fact that there is at present in 
the Department of Education a specialist in educational measure- 
ment, functioning in very much such a way as is recommended, but 
under severe limitations. The work already accomplished in this 
office, recently established, gives some indication of the usefulness of 
this service. 



126 



CHAPTER VIII 
RURAL SCHOOL BUILDINGS 

Facts Regarding School Buildings 

A RE school buildings heated in such a way that there is suffi- 
f-\ cient — but not too much — heat distributed so that all parts 
"*-•*■ of the room are comfortable? Is there sufficient light, that 
children can study without eye-strain? Are windows so placed 
that there is no glare, no cross-lights, no shadows on the pupils' 
desks? Are the shades such that the direct rays of the sun can be 
shut out without at the same time shutting off much of the light? 
Are the toilets clean, well ventilated, and well lighted? Are they 
under the complete control of the teacher? Is there sufficient play- 
ground, so that the children have space in which to play those games 
that delight them? 

The answers to these and similar questions are of vital concern to 
all, for they tell whether or not children are attending school under 
conditions that enable them to give full attention to their work and 
protect their health and their morals while there. 

Since it was impossible to study all the rural school buildings in 
the state, 37 supervisory districts were selected as typical of all such 
districts. All the occupied school buildings in these supervisory 
districts were studied, so that altogether there were 1438 one- 
teacher, 77 two-teacher, 31 three- to four-teacher, 70 five- to nine- 
teacher, and 41 ten- or more teacher schools. 

A schoolhouse is made up of a large number of factors — roof, 
windows, walls, blackboards, desks, closets, etc. — so that if one is to 
indicate just where conditions are satisfactory and where they are 
not, one must study each of these factors. This was done by means 
of a score card based on the same principles as the score cards for 
horses, cattle, and barns, with which most farmers are familiar. 

127 



In this way one is able to say to how many points out of 1000 any 
particular building is entitled, and to say that such and such factors 
need to be improved in order to provide a school building meeting 
modern standards. The score cards (two were used: one for the 
one- and two-teacher schools; another for the larger schools) were 
developed through the cooperation of a large number of persons 
familiar with school buildings and with modern hygienic require- 
ments. 

The One-teacher Building 

In the one- and two-teacher buildings a distinction was made be- 
tween certain factors that every reasonably good building should 
possess (for example, a certain amount of light, a certain sized play- 
ground, a modern stove), and certain other factors that the com- 
munity that is really progressive will want because they represent 
the best feasible facilities. Thus it was found that the poorest one- 
teacher building studied received a score of 320 -f- (that is, 320 
out of 1000 points required of a reasonably satisfactory building, 
and points beyond these), while the best received 962 -j- 98 (that 
is, 962 out of 1000 points required, with 98 additional points). 
This latter score means that while the building has some unusually 
good features, it is still somewhat lacking, though not much, in 
certain essential features. The maximum number of additional 
points likely to be found in one- or two-teacher buildings is about 
300. The average score is 604 + 14, indicating that the typical 
one-teacher building not only is far short of meeting reasonable 
standards, but receives very little (only 14 points) of additional 
credit. Of course, the effort of a community should be directed to 
securing the complete 1000 points before it attempts to secure much 
in the way of additional points. 

If any citizen desires to know what the score of his building 
would be, he should write to the author for a copy of the score card 
and standards and either score the building himself, or ask his 
district superintendent to do it for him. It means a little study, but 
the community will be well repaid because of the exact information 
it will secure regarding the housing of its school children. Those 
who live in one of the supervisory districts studied may secure this 
information through the district superintendent if they desire. 

128 



In a community having an average schoolhouse (and the one- 
teacher buildings are strikingly uniform, half of them having a 
score between 543 -f- 4 and 674 + 23), this is about what will be 
found. It is a rectangular affair, which has been called, and justly 
so, the "box car" type. If it is compared with the average home of 
the neighborhood, it is by contrast singularly unattractive. Of 
all of the one-teacher buildings, 95 percent are of this type. The 
building is usually in need of paint. 

School Grounds 

The grounds contain only 47 square rods, — a little over one- 
quarter of an acre, — so that when the pupils play their running 
games, the road or the neighbor's field must be utilized. A full 
acre is a reasonable space, in order to give room for the building, 
for trees and shrubbery, and for such games and play apparatus as 
elementary children delight in: swings, sand pile, teeter board, 
horizontal bar, volley ball, one old cat, pompom pull away, etc. 
But only 10 percent of the schools have this amount of ground, 
while over 12 percent have not over one-eighth of an acre. There 
is, however, one redeeming feature about the grounds — they have 
plenty of trees. In fact, sometimes there are so many and they are 
so large that they shade the building, cutting off some of the light. 
But the yard is not otherwise attractive. Ashes or other rubbish 
are likely to be found in front of the schoolhouse. There is no lawn, 
no shrubbery, no flowers to give the place something of an attrac- 
tive, home-like atmosphere. 

The suggestion of the whole plant is that it is a place where 
children may find shelter — not a place reflecting the spirit that 
here is where children spend six hours a day, one hundred and eighty 
days to the year, for eight years of the most impressionable part 
of their lives. 

Lighting 

The typical school does not have enough window area to give 
sufficient light. Modern standards say that in this latitude the 
glass area should be not less than one-fifth the size of the floor, and 
where there is considerable shade, the proportion should be one- 
fourth. The typical school has a glass area that is only one-seventh 
9 129 



the floor area. Only 19 out of each 100 schools meet the standards, 
while in 11 out of each 100 the ratio is one-tenth and in a few cases 
it runs as low as one-fifteenth and one-eighteenth. In addition to 




Proportion that glass area is of floor space 

Diagram 6. — Proportion that glass area is of floor space in one- and two- 
teacher schools. The standard is at least 1 : 5 




One-teacher schools 



Two-teacher schools 



Diagram 7. — Window placement in one- and two-teacher schools. Light from 
one side is the standard 



this, 86 out of each 100 schools have shades of such color, unusually 
dark green, that the light is practically shut out when the shade is 
down. If the color were gray or tan, or something similar, the 

130 





Qj'C 



'O t3 



e-o- 





direct rays of the sun would be shut out, but light could still come 
through. 

Not only the amount of light, but its quality, is important. If 
such light comes from the pupil's rear or right, a shadow is cast by 
his shoulder, hand, or pencil, and there is consequently an eye- 
strain in attempting to read what is in the book or what he is 
writing. Lighting from both left and right may also produce a 
reflection irritating to the eyes. Light in the rear is further harm- 
ful, because the teacher must face it a good share of the day, while 
light in the front, where all the pupils must face it, is even more 
disastrous. In New York 10 percent of the one-teacher schools 
have windows on all four sides; 56 percent have them on three 
sides; 31 percent on two sides; while only 3 percent have what is 
accepted as a desirable standard — windows on the pupil's left only. 

The color scheme of the walls affects both the amount of light and 
its quality. If the walls are dark, too much light is absorbed; if 
pure white, a glare is likely to result. Only one-third of the 
schools have a color scheme that is satisfactory in this respect. 

Heating 
In the typical school we find the ordinary stove that radiates 
heat directly, so that when pupils in the far parts of the room are 
comfortable, those near the stove are too hot. These pupils are 
not only uncomfortable, but when they go outdoors, are more 
likely to catch cold. Of each 100 one-teacher schools, 85 have 
this kind of stove. If, now, a metal jacket is put about the 
stove, an opportunity is provided for remedying the situation 
described. The fresh air may be brought in by a metal pipe 
directly from outdoors to the space between the jacket and the 
stove. Here it is heated, and as it becomes heated, it rises toward 
the top of the room. This leaves space between the jacket and 
the stove so that more fresh air rushes in to take the place of that 
which has been warmed. In this way a current is set up, the warm 
air is circulated about the room, and a much more even tempera- 
ture is maintained. An outlet may then be placed near the stove 
for the foul air to be taken outdoors instead of having it reheated 
and breathed again by the pupils. But the one-teacher schools 

131 



have such facilities in only 14 percent of the cases. Furthermore, 
only 31 out of each 100 schools have a thermometer with which to 
measure the temperature accurately. One can readily understand 
how difficult it is for the teacher who moves about the room to tell 
by " the feel " whether the temperature is correct. 

Gas heater . 

Furnace 5* 

Jacketed 
stove 




One-teacher schools Two-teacher schools 

Diagram 8. — Types of heating apparatus in one- and two-teacher schools 



Water Supply 

People will not, of course, tolerate conditions that may give their 
children impure water. Not only that, but there must be plenty of 
it not too far from the school. A neighbor's well is used by 74 per- 
cent of the schools. There is no disadvantage in this if the neigh- 
bor is careful about his well, and if the children do not have to go 
so far for the water that they refrain from using as much either for 
washing or drinking as they otherwise would. Twelve percent 
have wells on the school ground while 12 percent use a spring. 
Much care must, of course, be taken to see to it that the water is 
kept free from contamination — there should be no sources of con- 
tamination (barns, privies, animal pens) near, and the well should be 
so located or protected that surface water cannot flow into it. The 
typical school meets these conditions satisfactorily, but there are 
approximately 25 percent that do not. 

Even if the water is pure, disease may result from the way in 

132 



Percent of all schools studied 
One-teacher Two-teacher 



I. Facilities for 
Drinking 

Open jar or pail ' 
Closed jar 
Fountain 
Covered pail 
Go to well 
None 
No data 





II. Drinking Cups 
Paper or / 80.S 



individual 



Neither of these 



\ 72.6 C 



16.6 I 
15.1 C 



No data 



f 2: 

\12. 



III. Protection of In- 
dividual Cups 




No data 



IV. Towels 
Neither paper (61.4 I 
nor individual \ 64.0 Q 



Paper or 
individual 



27.0 
34.7 C 



I 4.7 | 

\ 0.0 

/ 6-9 ■ 

I 1.3 1 



D 



None 

No data 
Diagram 9. — Drinking facilities and towels in one- and two-teacher schools 



133 



which pupils use that water. An uncovered pail allows dust and 
all the germs that it may contain to settle on the water, yet 43 out 
of each 100 schools permit this. A common cup is, by general 
knowledge, now recognized as an easy means of conveying disease 
from one child to another, and fortunately only 16 percent of the 
schools use it. Unfortunately, however, 68 percent of the schools 
having individual cups have not realized the necessity of protecting 
these cups adequately when not in use. A small closed cabinet 
can be supplied by a little labor, and thus the dust that accumulates 
when cups are in or upon the desks is kept out. A bubbling foun- 
tain that will meet the entire problem may be purchased for from 
$12 to $20. 

The common towel is found still in 61 percent of the schools. 
In about 5 percent there are no towels at all. Paper towels may be 
supplied for a relatively small sum, and thus danger of contamina- 
tion is eliminated at the same time that the labor of keeping clean a 
common or an individual towel is made unnecessary. 

Sweeping 
Sweeping with a broom, without either a sweeping compound or 
an oiled floor to keep the dust from spreading, is used in just about 
half the one- teacher schools. In 77 percent a dry cloth is used in 
dusting. When one stops to consider that dust remaining on the 
desks, maps, window-sills, and apparatus is likely to get on the 
child's hands and so may reach his mouth, one realizes the de- 
sirability of taking the simple precaution of using carefully a damp 
cloth or an oiled cloth so that as many as possible of the particles 
of dust will be removed. 

First Aid 
Children frequently develop slight illnesses at school or in their 
play receive minor cuts or bruises. A first-aid outfit that will 
enable the teacher to attend to such cases at once can be supplied 
for about four dollars. Only 10 percent of the schools have such 
an outfit, and practically all these are in six supervisory districts. 
It is interesting to know that in a few of these districts practically 
every school is supplied with such an outfit. 

134 



Seating 
Of the schools, 89 percent are seated with a type of desk that 
cannot be adjusted to the needs of the pupils. This difficulty can 
be met fairly well if enough sizes are furnished so that each pupil 
may have a seat that will enable him to sit upright with his feet 
squarely on the floor and a desk on which he can write comfortably 



49$ 



48$ 



1 • teacher 
2- teacher 



40$ 



Seats 



Desks 



Distance between 
seats and desks 



Diagram 10. — Percentage of one- and two-teacher schools having proper adjust- 
ment of seats, desks, and distance between seats and desks 



when in an upright position. Not always is there a sufficient num- 
ber of desks of different sizes, however. This is shown by the fact 
that in 18 percent of the schools one-half or more of the seats are 
not properly adjusted to the pupils, and in 20 percent of the schools 
one-half or more of the desks are not properly adjusted. Part of 

i35 



these cases could be remedied if the seating were rearranged. 
School desks are made in sizes, it being intended that a No. 2 seat 
should be placed behind a No. 2 desk. It is clear that if a child 
fits a No. 2 desk he generally fits a No. 2 seat. But in practice we 
find that seats are very frequently arranged so that a No. 3 seat is 
put with a No. 2 desk. This places the small seats in the front of 
the room and the larger ones in the rear. What ought to be done, 
so far as possible, is to put seats and desks of the same size in a 
single row — the smaller ones near the windows (when light comes 
from one side only), the larger ones toward the inside wall. Of 
the one-teacher schools, 42 percent have the desks improperly 
installed. A little labor, with perhaps the addition of a few new 
desks of different size, would greatly improve present conditions. 
If it is decided to purchase new desks, — and many schools need 
them because they are broken or badly marred, — the adjustable 
desk can be purchased for very little more than the non-adjustable 
type, and so finer adjustments to pupils' needs may be made. 
Many teachers prefer the more recent movable chair-desk. One 
advantage of this is that it can be moved about when the teacher 
desires to bring certain pupils together into an informal group. 
Another advantage is that such desks can be placed against the 
wall and a space in the middle of the floor cleared for games when 
children cannot play out-of-doors. If the school has folding chairs, 
the class-room can also be turned into a neighborhood room. 

Blackboards 
A good blackboard is of importance in the class-room activities. 
Yet 34 percent of the schools have painted boards. These are 
quite unsatisfactory, for the reason that the paint soon wears off, 
the board becomes smooth and glossy, so that it is difficult to write 
on, and the individual pieces of lumber of which it is composed 
draw apart, leaving unsightly cracks that interfere with the writing. 
Fortunately, only 2 percent of the schools have painted plaster. 
Where used, the plaster is likely to crack and fall off, and when 
repaired, causes an uneven surface. Forty-seven percent have 
either slate or composition. These are the only types that give 
long-time, satisfactory service. The initial cost is relatively small, 

136 




B T3 





5 "-H 



and the cost of upkeep is practically nothing. Furthermore, a 
common practice has been to place blackboards so high from the 
floor that the smaller children cannot use them. Where there is 
only a single height, this should be not over 28 inches. Two 
heights of 26 and 32 inches are better. Yet in half of the schools 
the lowest blackboard is 35 inches or more high, while only 15 per- 
cent have a height of 28 inches or under. All except about 20 
percent of the schools have sufficient blackboard space, such as it is. 

Play Apparatus 
Unless this average school of which we have been speaking is 
unusual in this respect, it has no playground apparatus of any 
kind. Out of each 100, 84 belong to this group. The other 16 
percent have one or more pieces, such as swings, teeter board, 
volley ball and net, horizontal bar, quoits, football, boxing gloves, 
jumping pole, etc. Such apparatus is helpful in stimulating pupils 
to play various types of games that promote physical development. 
Some of these pieces can be made by the older boys or their fathers. 

Toilets 

The investigator approached the subject of toilets with as open 
a mind as possible — if anything, rather prejudiced against the 
chemical toilet. He found that of the toilets in use, less than 1 
percent are of the flush type, 35 percent are of the chemical type, 
while 64 percent are outdoor. 

We are concerned with types of toilets because of the effect they 
have in providing sanitary and moral conditions. There are eight 
important ends that should be set up as criteria for determining 
whether such conditions are secured: (1) Cleanliness; (2) control 
of the spread of disease through flies, etc. ; (3) facilities that do not 
permit weather conditions to become a deterrent to the full use of 
those facilities; (4) freedom from defacement; (5) easy control by 
the teacher; (6) complete seclusion; (7) sufficient ventilation; (8) 
sufficient light. On certain of these points it was possible to secure 
definite information as to conditions in chemical and outdoor 
toilets. The flush type is not considered here, since it is imprac- 
ticable in most of the small schools. It was found, for example, that 

137 



of the chemical type, 93 percent gave sufficient seclusion, but of the 
outdoor toilet only 58 percent did so. The reason for this is that 
the state sets certain standards for the chemical toilets that tended 
to insure seclusion, while in the outdoor type little if any change 
was made. Where these faced the road unprotected, they usually 
so remained; where the closets of the two sexes were practically 
together, they were not separated; and where the boards of the 
close fence of the approaches were down, they were not replaced. 
Proper installation and location would make the outdoor toilet as 
secluded as the chemical. It was found that 96 percent of the 

Flush .3$. ,No data .7$ 

V 




One-teacher schools Two-teacher schools 

Diagram 11. — Kinds of toilets in one- and two-teacher schools 



chemical toilets were well lighted because the state required that 
windows be provided. In the outdoor type only 30 percent were 
well lighted, for the reason that there was usually no provision for 
admitting light except that which came through the door or through 
cracks due to ill-fitting boards. This could be remedied. Facts 
showed also that 91 percent of the chemical toilets were well venti- 
lated because the methods of installation provided ventilation. 
Only 25 percent of the outdoor toilets were well ventilated for the 
reason that usually there is no provision for ventilation except 
through general diffusion, and because lime or dust is almost never 
used. A comparison as to general condition (lack of odor, cleanli- 

138 



ness, etc.) showed that 87 percent of the chemical and 26 percent 
of the outdoor were satisfactory. Probably the chief reason for 
the advantage shown by the chemical type is that it must be cared 
for. No type can be satisfactory without care, but neglect in the 
case of the sanitary closet is disastrous. The worst toilet the in- 
vestigator found in his work through the state was a chemical 
toilet, but this was obviously due to carelessness. To insure proper 
care, especially as regards the use of the chemicals and emptying, 
it would be economy for a supervisory district to employ a compe- 
tent person to care for all the schools. The cost to each would be 
small compared with the results that could be secured. 

Cleanliness is a matter of care that either type of toilet may pro- 
vide. Control of the spread of disease through flies is also funda- 
mental. Here the chemical toilet has clearly the advantage, since 
the chemical destroys the matter that attracts flies. Ease of con- 
trol of the toilet by the teacher is also to be desired. The outdoor 
type is difficult to control at any time, and practically impossible 
of control out of school hours. The chemical has the advantage in 
this respect. For this reason the chemical toilet is less likely to 
show the defacement that the investigator found, in certain cases, 
to a degree that he would not have believed had he not seen with 
his own eyes. Furthermore, it is common knowledge that the 
child is reluctant to use the outdoor toilet as freely as he ought 
when the weather is bad. We do not know to what extent ill health 
in later life is traceable to this reluctance, but it is probably con- 
siderable. Here again the chemical type has the advantage, since 
this kind must be in rooms that are a part of the school building. 

So far, therefore, as the investigator has been able to analyze 
the problem and to secure definite facts, he is inclined to recommend 
to rural folks that they give careful consideration to the chemical 
toilet as one of the most effective means of attaining the ends de- 
sired. In fact, so far as this investigation shows, conditions are 
decidedly better where the chemical toilet is found. 

Estimated Cost of Securing Improvement 
Some of the improvements suggested above cannot be made 
without considerable expense; others can be made for very little. 

i39 



Table 17. — Estimated Cost or Suggested Impbovements 

Estimated 
Cost to Meet 
Item Needed Improvements Essential 

Standards 

1. Size None 

2. Shape None 

3. Window placement Labor and materials for securing unilateral 

lighting $48.00 

4. Glass area Included in "3" 

5. Shades New shades 18.00 

6. Floor New 100.00 

7. Walls Replastering 53.00 

8. Color scheme Tinting 13.50 

9. Inside finish None 

10. Blackboard 15 feet of 3}4 foot composition board 

with tray; 15 feet of 2>yi foot slate 

board with tray 25.00 

11. Bulletin board Pine covered with burlap 2.00 

12a. Desks — pupils' Repairs 10.00 

12b. Desk— teachers' New 25.00 

13. Seating arrangements. . . .Rearranging seats 3.00 

14. Closet None 

15. Clock Desk clock 3.00 

16. Fuel room Repairs 25.00 

17. Cloak room Rooms connected with sanitary toilets 

20. Library None 

24. Heating and ventilation. .Room heater with intake and outlet 125.00 

Thermometer .50 

26. Cleaning system Oiling floor 2.00 

27. Water supply Bubbling fountain 14.00 

Two small mirrors 1.00 

Paper towels (per year) 10.00 

Liquid soap and container 2.50 

28. Artificial lighting Two Coleman gas lamps (300 candle- 

power each) 20.00 

29. Toilets Sanitary with cloak rooms attached 350.00 

32. First-aid outfit 3.50 

33. Mailbox 2.00 

34. Flag and pole None 

37. Foundation Repairing 8.00 

38. Roof Slight repairing 5.00 

39. Condition of repair Repainting inside and out 55.00 

Siding replaced 5.00 

40. Position on grounds None 

41. Orientation None 

43. Size of grounds 92 square yards more land 75.00 

44. Shape and drainage None 

45. Shape of grounds None 

46. Condition None 

47. Fencing Woven-wire field fence 127.00 

48. Walks Gravel 10.00 

49. Playground apparatus ... Swing 15.00 

Teeter board 10.00 

Sand pile 5.00 

Horizontal bar 10.00 

Volley ball and bat 30.00 

50. Environment None 

51. Accessibility None .. 

Total $1211.00 

140 



In order to give an idea of such costs there are shown on page 140 
the improvements, together with the necessary expenditures, as esti- 
mated by a prominent superintendent, that need to be made in 
order to give a typical school (an actual case with a score of 606 -f- 
32) 1000 points of essential credit. There will, of course, be some 
variation in costs from one community to another. 

Having made a study of the school, and having discovered 
wherein it needs improving, the interested citizen can set about 
stimulating his neighbors. They are unusual folks, indeed, if 
they will refuse anything necessary for the children's welfare, pro- 
viding it is within their ability to furnish it. If a few improvements 
are made each year, it will not be long before the children will have 
those conditions of housing that will contribute to, rather than 
hinder, their physical, moral, and intellectual development. 

Two-teacher Schools 
The children of those who live in a district maintaining a two- 
teacher building attend school in a building that is better in prac- 
tically every respect than if they were in a one-teacher school. 
The average score here is 755 + 29, an improvement of 151 + 15 
points over the one-teacher building. The glass area is 1:6 as 
compared with 1:7. Twenty-three percent are lighted from one 
side; 51 percent from two sides; 26 percent from three sides. In 
this matter and in those that follow you may find it interesting 
to compare the conditions with those given in the preceding 
pages regarding one-teacher schools. Out of each 100, 70 have 
shades that shut out too much light Fifty-six percent have a 
furnace; 15 percent, a jacketed stove. The percentage having 
an unjacketed stove is reduced to 26; 69 out of each 100 have a 
thermometer; 57, a well on the grounds; none use a brook or 
spring. About 20 percent do not properly protect the source of 
their water supply. Only 13 percent have the open pail, while 24 
percent have fountains. Fifteen percent do not have either paper 
cups or individual cups, and 64 percent do not have either paper or 
individual towels. Seventy-eight percent have an oiled floor; 11 
percent use sweeping compound; 55 percent dust with a dry cloth. 
Twelve percent have a first-aid outfit. As to toilets, 12 percent 

141 



are flush; 55 percent are sanitary; 33 percent are outdoor. The 
relative condition of the sanitary and the outdoor types is practi- 
cally the same as in the one-teacher schools. Six percent have 
either the adjustable desk or the movable chair-desk; 71 percent 
have non-adjustable types. Only 9 percent have one-half or more 
of seats that are not properly adjusted, and 11 percent have one- 
half or more of desks that are not satisfactorily adjusted. In 25 
percent of the schools the desks are not placed together according 
to size; 59 out of each 100 have either slate or composition boards, 
but the minimum height is still too high — 34 inches. The grounds 
contain 125 square rods on the average, and 68 percent have no 
play apparatus of any sort. People who live in two-teacher dis- 
tricts may still do much to improve conditions. 

Three Teachers and Over 

The children of those who live in a hamlet or village where there 
is a school with three or more teachers have, in general, a still better 
building in which to attend school. 

The average rating given a three- or four-teacher building on the 
score card was 548. The score card used was quite different from 
the one employed in the smaller schools, so that no comparison can 
be made between the two groups on the basis of the score received. 
The average score for a five- to nine-teacher building was 628; for a 
building of 10 or more, 665. Thus it is clear that the larger the 
number of teachers employed, the greater are the chances that the 
building will be somewhat better. 

In the better buildings only slight improvements need to be made, 
but in many the community should give serious consideration either 
to making extensive modifications or to erecting a new building. 

In presenting some facts regarding these larger buildings the 
five- to nine-teacher group is chosen as illustrative in order to save 
space. In general, conditions in the three- to four-teacher group 
will be slightly poorer than these; in the 10 + group, somewhat 
better. 

Of the 70 five- to nine-teacher schools studied, the average have 
a ratio of glass area to floor area of 1 : 6 in all class, recitation, and 
study rooms; 52 percent still have opaque shades, and 72 percent 

142 




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w 







have top-roller shades. In these class, recitation, and study rooms 
light comes from one side in 28 percent of the cases, from two sides 
in 57 percent, from three sides in 13 percent. Forty-six percent 
of the schools have a hot-air furnace; 39 percent, a steam boiler; 
3 percent a hot-water boiler. Stoves have nearly disappeared, 
existing in only 4 percent. Forty-nine percent have some form of 
fire-extinguishing apparatus; 24 percent have some fire-retarding 
features, such as a fire-proof basement ceiling or an enclosed heat- 
ing apparatus. All but 14 percent have some kind of fire-alarm 
system. Unfortunately, 23 percent have combustible or inflam- 
mable material stored in the building; 6 percent have outside doors 
that open inward; and 70 percent of these outside doors are not 
equipped with anti-panic bolts. Of these schools, 76 percent have 
oiled floors; 91 percent of all class, recitation, and study halls have 
either slate or composition blackboards. Thirty-six percent have 
no play apparatus of any kind, and very few of the others have a 
sufficient amount. Probably the greatest deficiency is in the 
laboratories. Very frequently these are laboratories largely by 
courtesy, since they lack so many essentials. The following 
description of a five- teacher school with 12 grades is not far from 
typical of the kind of deficiencies found. "Science laboratory too 
small and crowded. Lacks space for keeping apparatus. Lacks 
water, gas, etc. Lacks modern individual experiment table." On 
the other hand, many of the newer schools, especially those of ten 
or more teachers, have splendidly equipped laboratories, libraries, 
study halls, gymnasiums, auditoriums, and even, in some, special 
rooms for such activities as drawing, music, and swimming. 

It will be noticed, however, that even though the larger buildings 
have deficiencies, they are in nearly all respects better than the 
smaller buildings, whether they are compared in regard to such 
health essentials as good heating and lighting or in regard to the op- 
portunities offered the children in the way of play-rooms, work- 
rooms, etc. 

What May be Done to Secure Improvements Where Needed ? 

Many people have argued that local communities have shown 

themselves unable to handle their educational problems without at 

143 



least a great deal of direction by the state. As evidence they point 
to just such conditions as those that have been pointed out in regard 
to buildings. But others have contended that this conclusion does 
not follow; that the reason conditions are as they are is because 
citizens have not known about them or have not realized their sig- 
nificance. People who hold this latter view claim that when the 
facts are known, the progressive citizens of most communities will 
press the question tactfully, yet so persistently, that the majority 
will in reasonable time come to demand something better. The fol- 
lowing recommendations are based upon the second point of view: 

1. The first step after learning the situation in the state is to dis- 
cuss the matter in the community. The school should be visited to 
see how it compares with the standards that modern buildings may 
reasonably be expected to meet. The problem may be considered 
in grange, farm bureau, home bureau, and similar meetings. Lit- 
erature on the subject should be secured from the State Depart- 
ment of Education. The district superintendent should be called in 
for advice. Then, when community sentiment is ripe, the people 
should be called together for further discussion and whatever action 
seems wise. 

2. Action ought not, however, to stop with this. Some communi- 
ties may be apathetic and do nothing, even while the majority are 
alert. It is generally recognized that the state has the primary re- 
sponsibility regarding education, and it ought not permit a few com- 
munities, because of their backwardness, to send their children year 
after year to a schoolhouse that is unhygienic. The state should 
set up standards that will provide everything necessary in a good 
building, and should see to it that those standards are enforced. 
This enforcement should not be difficult, because the minimum 
standards should represent what a working majority of the people 
think to be desirable. 

The state has at present certain minimum requirements for 
schoolhouses, but the law on this matter is not so clear as would be 
desirable; neither are the standards so inclusive as they ought to 
be, because only new buildings and those that are remodeled to the 
extent of $500 come under the law. It is obvious that, given a rea- 
sonable time, all school buildings ought to meet those standards 

144 




Built about 1870; remodeled about 1905; stairway inadequate in 
case of fire; no provision for fire protection; no artificial lighting sys- 
tem; outdoor toilets in bad condition; laboratory quite inadequate; 
fairly good study hall but no other special rooms; large playground 
area but no play apparatus. Score: 438. 




What a visit to the basement revealed 



^^^^^^RHofen^ 2* 





Evidence of community apathy 
An illustration of a poor building in a small village 



because all children ought to have at least those minimum facilities 
that the people, acting through the state, demand. When one 
realizes that the present law requiring state approval of plans for 
new and remodeled buildings was passed in 1904, and that only 
about 8 percent of the one-teacher buildings have been erected since 
that date, one can readily understand why schoolhouses are so gen- 
erally deficient. It is significant, in this connection, also to know 
that 75 percent of these schools are thirty-six or more years old, and 
that 50 percent have been built for fifty-one or more years. 

3. Many communities now have so little wealth that, unaided, 
it is practically impossible for them to make all the changes in 
building desired. Where this is true the state should give financial 
assistance. This is only a matter of fairness. Of course, it is to 
be expected that the state will not aid communities that do not tax 
themselves as heavily as they may, or that insist on maintaining 
weak schools with few pupils when there is another school within 
reasonable distance. If the state were also to give a bonus to 
those communities that do more than the minimum standards re- 
quire, there would be a real incentive to continued progress. 

Summary of Recommendations 
On the basis of the facts secured, the committee recommends: 

1. That each community study earnestly its school-building situ- 
ation, to the end that, wherever necessary, better provision may be 
made because the community believes improvement necessary. 

2. In order that children may not suffer because of the neglect of 
apathetic communities, that the present law dealing with minimum 
standards be made more clear, that the standards be raised to com- 
ply more nearly with modern hygienic requirements, and that the 
standards be made applicable, after a specified period, to all school- 
houses in the state. 

3. That the state give financial assistance to those communities 
that cannot meet the minimum standards without undue effort and 
that it grant a bonus to those that exceed these standards. 



i4S 



CHAPTER IX 
THE EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT 1 

A GOOD school is one in which children learn the things 
which children ought to know, and in which they form use- 
" ful habits. It is schools of this type for which the people of 
New York state are willing to pay large sums of money in public 
taxes and to make large personal sacrifices in time and money. A 
proper evaluation of the rural school system of the state, therefore, 
implies an inquiry into the achievements of the pupils in these 
schools. In how far are these pupils learning the things they are 
expected to learn? In how far do they master the fundamental sub- 
jects of the school curriculum? To secure a basis for proper judg- 
ment on these questions the Committee of Twenty-One provided 
for testing the achievements of pupils in the rural schools of repre- 
sentative supervisory districts of the state. 

The districts were chosen with a view to including all kinds of 
rural schools, and thus giving a fair and accurate picture of prevail- 
ing conditions throughout the state. These districts lie in the fol- 
lowing counties: Cayuga, Clinton, Columbia, Erie, Herkimer, St. 
Lawrence, Tompkins, Wayne, Westchester, Otsego, and Oswego. 
In the districts thus selected the tests were given in every school, 
from the largest and most easily accessible to the smallest and most 
remote. In addition to tests in these districts, examinations were 
also given in the consolidated school at Greigsville, Livingston 
County; and in the junior high schools in Rochester and Buffalo 
and in the senior high school at Syracuse. 

In each school every elementary pupil was examined with one or 

more tests. Tests in silent reading were given in every grade from 

the first to the twelfth; tests in spelling were given in grades 3 to 

1 This chapter is published as prepared by Dr. Haggerty. 

146 



8; and tests in American history were given in grades 7 and 8. In 
the high schools the pupils who were studying algebra and Latin 
took tests in these subjects, as well as tests in silent reading. In all 
about 16,000 pupils in 441 schools were examined. 

While the tests were made thus widely, only a portion of the re- 
sults will be here reported. The general trend of all the results will 
be evident from selected data bearing upon crucial problems in the 
work of the rural schools. Complete data will be given in the full 
report. For the purpose of the present discussion it may be as- 
sumed that grades 2, 5, and 8 represent the elementary schools; 
that the work of the high schools is fairly represented by the work of 
the ninth grade, and that reading ability is the basic achievement of 
public education. Major space will, therefore, be given to these 
matters. 

The Problem of Illiteracy 

If the entire population of New York who are ten years old and 
over were placed in a single file, the line would reach nearly 5000 
miles. If one were to pass down this line, every twentieth person he 
would meet would be unable to write his own name. 1 If these half- 
million illiterates were segregated into a similar line, it would stretch 
across the state from Buffalo to Utica, or a distance of about 240 
miles. Among the native-born whites the proportion of illiterates is 
one-half of 1 percent, while it is 14 percent among the foreign born 
who were living in the state in 1920. 2 

It is clear, however, that the ability to write one's own name, 1 im- 
portant as it is, is no very adequate educational achievement. If a 
person is to participate in the social life of American democratic 
society in any real way, it is necessary for him to read the English 
language. Nor is a mere elementary reading knowledge, such as is 
attained by primary children, sufficient. The problems of eco- 
nomics, of politics, and of religion are discussed in periodicals and 
books which primary children cannot read. The ability to read in- 

1 The definition of illiteracy used by the United States Census is ability to 
write one's own name. 

2 Figures are from the Fourteenth Census (1920). The Appendix contains 
detailed information regarding illiteracy that was furnished by C. W. Smith, 
State Department of Education. 

147 



telligently the daily papers, simply written as they are, is con- 
siderably in excess of the achievement of primary children. In view 
of these considerations it would appear that census figures for illit- 
eracy are somewhat illusory. They suggest a better condition than 
actually exists. If the census definition may be accepted as a cri- 
terion for illiteracy, then there should be recognized a condition of 
near-illiteracy which, because of its great extent, is of more concern 
than is illiteracy itself. 

Near-illiteracy and the Army Examinations 
No better evidence of the amount of near-illiteracy which exists 
throughout the country can be obtained than that revealed by the 
army intelligence examinations. The bearing of these examinations 
on the problems of public education in the state of New York is of 
sufficient importance to justify a word of detail. Group examination 
Alpha was designed for men who could read the English language; 
the other, group examination Beta, was intended for illiterates or 
non-English-reading soldiers. The Alpha examination was suffi- 
ciently simple that it could be given to pupils in the fourth and fifth 
grades of the public schools. Yet, despite the general simplicity of 
the Alpha test, it was found necessary to examine 24.9 percent of the 
one and three-quarter millions of recruits with the Beta test. In 
general it may, therefore, be said that one-fourth of America's 
young men between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-one cannot 
read the English language as well as a fourth or fifth grade child in 
the public schools. 

These figures, taken from the Memoir of the National Academy 
of Science on "Psychological Examining in the United States 
Army," are for the country as a whole. For the state of New York 
the Memoir shows that 16.6 percent of the men were unable to read 
the Alpha examinations. Of the recruits from New York city, 31 
percent were required to take the Beta examination. Less than 2 
percent of these were rated as feeble-minded, leaving 29 percent who 
were illiterates or near-illiterates, and who might have learned to 
read under adequate educational conditions. Of these, 2 percent 
were unable to speak English, 9 percent were able to speak English 
but could not read and write it, and 20 percent were able to read and 

148 



write somewhat, but not sufficiently well to read sentences such as 
the following: 

"Get the answers to these examples as quickly as you can." 
"It is wise to put some money aside and not spend it all so 
that you may prepare for old age and sickness" 

To put the matter succinctly, it may be said that only 69 percent out 
of every 100 men whom New York city sent to the army were able 
to read English with sufficient facility to enable them to read the 
newspapers, or to understand army orders printed in the language 
of the country. 

It seems pertinent to present these facts concerning near-illiteracy 
because the people of the state of New York may legitimately expect 
their system of public education to remedy the situation. No single 
obligation rests so heavily upon the public schools as that of teach- 
ing the young people of the state to read the English language — the 
language of American politics and government, the language of 
American commerce and industry, the language of American litera- 
ture and of American social ideals. No achievement in other fields 
will compensate for failure here, and no mere knowledge of the 
simple words and sentences of the primary school readers will suffice. 
Young people should master the words and the language structure 
involved in English sentences and paragraphs which are necessary 
to mature thought. For such an achievement on the part of its citi- 
zens the state can afford to pay any necessary sum of money. To be 
satisfied with less is perilous to its democratic institutions. 

Reading English Prose 
With a view to throwing light upon the efficiency of the rural 
schools in meeting this problem of near-illiteracy, and in developing 
reading ability on the part of the pupils in these schools, a series of 
tests in silent reading was given. In all the upper grades and high 
schools of the selected supervisory districts the pupils were examined 
as to their knowledge of printed words, their ability to understand 
printed sentences and to understand printed paragraphs. The test 
material was selected almost wholly from school readers designed for 

149 



the upper elementary school grades, was arranged in three tests, 
and was presented to the pupils in the following forms: 

Test 1. — Vocabulary 
Draw a line under the best definition for each word. 

1. labor (look sad, to work, liquor, to read) 1 

2. victory (fight, to win a battle, sign, to exclaim) 2 

3. captain (wears cap, person who commands, tall man, master) ... 3 

Continue to 50 words. 

Test 2. — Sentence Reading 
Draw a line under the right answer to each question. 

1. Are shingles used on houses ? Yes No 

2. Are all fabrics made of wool ? Yes No 

3. Would you trust a dishonest character? Yes No 

Continue to 40 sentences. 

Test 3. — Paragraph Reading 
Read the directions and do what they say to do. 

I 

They went across the hall to a door at the back of the house. It opened before 
them and disclosed a long, bare, melancholy room, made barer still by lines of 
desks. At one of these a lonely boy was reading near a feeble fire; and Scrooge 
sat down upon a form and wept to see his poor forgotten self as he had used 
to be. 

1. Underline the words telling where the door was: 

in the front 
at the side 
in the rear 
by the porch 

2. Underline the false statements: 

The room was cheery. 

The room had desks in it. 

The room was filled with beautiful pictures and flowers. 

3. Check the one of the following statements which is true: 

a. There were many boys getting their lessons. 

b. One lonely lad was reading by the fire. 

c. Only one person crossed the hall. 

4. Underline the statements which are true : 

Scrooge cried. 

Scrooge was sorry for himself. 

Scrooge laughed aloud. 

Continue to 7 paragraphs and 28 questions. 

ISO 



These three tests were combined into a single examination requir- 
ing about forty minutes' time in all. Together they measure well an 
individual's ability to read English prose as it occurs in school text- 
books, in periodicals, in newspapers, and in ordinary books. 

The maximum combined score possible in the three tests is 146 
points. The average score for 1100 eighth-grade pupils in all types 
of New York rural schools is 72 points. The best score achieved by 
any eighth-grade pupil in any school is 135. Eight of the 1100 
pupils scored 120 or better, and almost 10 percent of eighth-grade 
pupils scored above 100. Persons who reach this mark can read 
with fair intelligence current newspapers, periodicals, and ordinary 
books. 

The lowest 12 percent of eighth-grade pupils scored less than 
50 points on the combined tests. The meaning of these low scores 
may be clarified by concrete examples. A detailed study of the 
pupils' responses shows that one pupil in every seven did not 
know that "manuscripts convey information." Either he was 
ignorant of the meaning of one of these three words, or he was 
unable to see the relation of the words when combined in the sen- 
tence. About one-fourth of all eighth-grade pupils asserted that 
"All laws are enacted with facility." Either the words were un- 
known or the pupils were ignorant of the processes of legislation. 
One in every three pupils did not know that "a knave" is "a 
rascal," and a larger number did not know that "to beguile" 
means "to deceive." In every 100, 28 denied that "Embezzlers 
practise fraudulent activities," and 27 believed that "Imbeciles 
have high intelligence." 

Similar details could be multiplied at length, but these are suffi- 
cient to show the character of the errors which are responsible for 
the low scores. The number of pupils who are able to interpret 
properly the straightforward English prose of Dickens, Eliot, 
Howells, Scott, and Washington is astonishingly small. Fifty-seven 
percent of the eighth-grade pupils failed to give correct answers to 
questions based on Washington's Farewell Address, about one-half 
of all declaring Washington to have asserted that "The people have 
no right to change the constitution of their government." 

These facts for the eighth grade are peculiarly significant because 

151 



these pupils were practically at the end of the elementary school 
program. There is little likelihood that they will at all improve in 
reading ability unless they go to high school the following year. For 
all other pupils, the scores made in this reading test represent the 
maximum they will achieve in school. Except in rare cases, there is 
a fair certainty that these abilities will deteriorate when the children 
are no longer in school and in daily contact with books. 

The foregoing figures are primarily for the larger rural schools, 
i. e., elementary schools having four or more teachers. In general 
these schools are superior in reading achievement to the smaller 
schools, as maybe seen by referring to Table 18. The eighth-grade 
pupils in the one-room schools, of which the state of New York has 
such a large number, read less well than do the seventh-grade pupils 
in the larger schools; and the seventh grades in the smaller schools 
are correspondingly behind. This difference is constant throughout 
the grades, as may be seen in Diagram 12, page 153. 



Table 18. — Reading Examination, Sigma 3. One- and Four-teacher Ele- 
mentary Schools. "Four-teacher Schools" Include all Schools with 
Four and More Teachers. Median Scores and Median Ages for 
Grades 5 to 8 





Grades 


Schools 


5 


6 


7 


8 




Score 


Age 


Score 


Age 


Score 


Age 


Score 


Age 


One-teacher 

Four-teacher 


31.5 
41.6 


11.9 
11.7 


41.7 
55.0 


12.3 
12.6 


55.3 
70.5 


13.4 
13.5 


65.8 
80.7 


14.4 
14.3 



This disadvantage of the smaller schools is aggravated by the fact 
of greater elimination of pupils in these schools. In the districts 
studied the number of eighth-grade pupils in one-teacher schools is 
less than one-half the number of first-grade pupils. Apparently 
these schools hold their pupils fairly well up until the end of grade 
6. They lose approximately one-third of the sixth-grade group at 

152 



the end of the year, and an additional 7 percent, or 40 percent in all, 
before the end of the eighth grade. 




Diagram 12. — Reading examination, Sigma 3. Scores made by pupils of 
grades 5 to 8 in one-teacher schools and in four-teacher schools. Data from 
Table 18 

The larger schools, on the other hand, have only 18 percent fewer 
pupils in the seventh and only 24 percent fewer in the eighth than 
in the sixth grades. A part of this apparent superiority of the larger 
schools is illusory, since some upper grade pupils leave the one- 
teacher schools and go to the larger schools, thus increasing the 
elimination figure for the smaller schools and lowering it for the 
larger schools. Notwithstanding this fact, however, there is fair 
certainty that the larger schools have distinctly greater holding 
power than have the one-teacher schools. 

It should, therefore, be kept in mind that the low seventh- and 
eighth-grade scores in the smaller schools would probably be lower 
still if all the pupils who should have been in school had been there 
on the day the tests were given. There is some reason to believe 

i53 



that the absent pupils were in general inferior in achievement to 

those present. Those who were no longer in school would, if 

present, have lowered the already low rank of these upper-grade 

classes. 

Reading in the High School 

Even among high school pupils the results of the tests leave much 
to be desired. Of all high school pupils, 27 percent failed to read 
accurately the prose paragraphs from standard English writers, 
and on individual words and sentences the errors, although not so 
great in number, were of a kind with those made by eighth-grade 
pupils. Half of all the high school pupils did not know accurately 
the meaning of "patriarch," "dexterity," "intrigue," "implac- 
able," or "animosity." One-fourth did not know the meaning of 
"conflagration," "obstacles," "harbinger," "sublime," "noctur- 
nal," or "spherical." An equal proportion asserted that "grim 
determination invariably brings about reconciliation," and that 
"despots invest subordinates with great authority"; while one in 
every ten believed that "petty larceny is conducive to good re- 
pute"; that " citron is found in craters," and that "good citizens 
are insensible to progress." 

The median scores for the high schools may be found in Table 19. 
The results show that in all types of high schools there are many 
pupils whose reading ability is so deficient that they must have 
very great difficulty in reading and understanding their text-books 
in high school science, in high school history, or in high school 
mathematics. In fact, the test results indicate that many of the 
pupils can do the reading of these necessary texts less well than can 
a majority of eighth-grade and many seventh-grade pupils. 

The distinction already noted between the larger and smaller 
elementary schools is also apparent in the high school grades. The 
data in Table 19 do not show the same consistency of superiority 
for the larger high schools as was true of the elementary schools, 
but the only exception occurs in grade 10. Diagram 13 shows a 
rather unexpected leap upward at this grade for the smaller schools. 
In all other places the figure appears to show the same condition as 
was shown in Diagram 12 for the elementary grades. 



iS4 



Table 19. — Reading Examination, Sigma 3. Small and Large High 
Schools. "Large" High Schools Means Having Four or More 
Teachers. All Others are "Small." Median Scores and Median 
Ages for Grades 9 to 12 





Grades 


Schools 


9 


10 


11 


12 




Score 


Age 


Score 


Age 


Score 


Age 


Score 


Age 


Small schools .... 
Large schools .... 


90.0 
94.6 


15.4 
15.1 


104.5 
103.0 


15.9 
16.3 


107.1 
111.5 


17.1 
17.2 


111.7 
118.0 


17.9 
17.8 



Score 
120 



80 



60 



40 





,---** - 




























...Large schools 
— — Small schools 







9 
Grades 



Diagram 13. — Reading examination, Sigma 3. Scores made by pupils of 
grades 9 to 12 in small and large high schools. Data from Table 19 



Reading in the Primary Grades 
The differences between the larger and smaller schools which 
appear in the reading achievements of the upper grades and in the 
high schools are evident in the lower grades. The pupils in these 




grades were examined with a simple reading examination, the first 
line of which was 

1. Put a tail on this pig. 

The successive lines increased in difficulty up to paragraphs like 
the following: 

(Read this paragraph and then do what it says to do. 
Read it again if you need to.) 

"But we are anxious to see the inside of this wonderful craft; 
so, after a few minutes in the turret, we go down the narrow hatch- 
way into the boat itself. Here we are immediately struck by the 
amount of machinery everywhere and the neatness and compact- 
ness of everything. Behind the living room is the engine room. 
Here are two heavy oil engines for driving the boat on the surface, 
and a powerful motor for use when the boat is submerged. In 
another compartment there are storage batteries for supplying the 
electric current for the motors, lights, and cooking apparatus." 

24. Draw a line under the one of these three words that shows sailboat 
what is described in this paragraph. aeroplane 

submarine 

25. Draw a line under the one of these three words that best little 
shows the amount of machinery to be seen. much 

none 

This examination has been used widely throughout the country, 
both in city and in rural schools. The "norms" of Table 20 are 
based on the results of the test in good city schools where reading is 
well taught. An examination of this table shows that, in com- 
parison with these standard norms, the New York rural schools, 
grade for grade, make inferior scores. In the case of the larger 
rural schools the inferiority is in most cases about one-half year 
below the standard. In the case of the one-teacher schools the 
deficiency amounts to almost a year. Thus, in grade 2 the norm 
calls for a median score of 20, while second-grade pupils in these 
smaller schools score but 9.5, which is but little more than the first- 
grade norm. In other words, the pupils who have been in these 

156 



schools almost two full years, and who are about eight and a half 
years old, read but little better than do seven and one-half year 
olds who have attended good city schools. A similar comparison 
may be noted in the case of third-grade pupils, who score just above 
the second-grade norm. The larger rural schools do distinctly 
better, their advantage being almost a half-year over the one- 
teacher schools. 

Several facts of significance should be stated in connection with 
these figures. First, the medians of Table 20 are based on tests of 
over 5000 pupils in these lower grades, and hence they should be 
accepted as having great weight as accurate measures of existing 
conditions. Second, the teaching of reading constitutes the main, 
and in many cases almost the sole, instructional activity of the 
school in these lower grades. These reading scores are, therefore, 
to a large degree a complete measure of the educational product 
of these schools up to the end of the third grade. It may also be 
noted that a half-year of deficiency in grade 2 means a loss of one- 
fourth of the school life of the child up to that point. A deficiency 
of one year in grade 3 means a loss of one-third of the child's school 
life up to the end of that grade. The ratio of deficiency is, therefore, 
very much greater than would similar gross amounts be in grades 
7 or 8. 



Table 20.— Reading Examination, Sigma 1. One- and Four-teacher 
Schools. Four-teacher Schools Include all Larger Schools. Me- 
dian Scores and Median Ages for Grades 1 to 4 





Grades 


New York 


1 


2 


3 


4 




Score 


Age 


Score 


Age 


Score 


Age 


Score 


Age 


One-teacher 

Four-teacher 


2.07 
2.40 


7.3 
7.1 


9.5 
12.7 


8.5 
8.4 


22.6 
26.7 


9.6 
9.4 


29.2 
34.3 


10.6 
10.6 


Norms 


6 


20 


30 


38 













157 



As an evidence that these results are not accidental, attention 
may be called to the fact that the deficiencies are constant from 
grade 1 to grade 4. Uniformly the larger schools score below the 
norm, and uniformly the one-teacher schools are below the larger 
schools. Whatever the conditions which make for the inferior 
achievement of these smallest schools may be, it is obvious that 
they operate generally throughout the schools of this type, and 
this despite the fact that the minimum length of the school term 
for all New York rural schools is one hundred and eighty days. 



Score 
40, — 



30 



Norms 
4 'teacher 
I" teacher 



s< hools 
sc hools 






20 



10 



/7 

/ 

y. 



^ 



** 



/> 



Grades 

Diagram 14. — Reading examination, Sigma 1. Upper curve, standard 
norms; middle curve shows median scores for four-teacher schools, grades 
1 to 4; lowest curve shows median scores in one-teacher schools, grades 1 to 
4. Data from Table 20 



The discussion of reading achievement began with emphasis 
upon the social value of literate or English-reading men and 

158 



women. It would be easy to elaborate this view. But it is equally 
pertinent to inquire about justice to individual boys and girls born 
and reared in the country. Some of these young people will desire 
to remain in the country; others will go to cities to live. But 
whether their future environment is to be rural or urban, is not 
adequate English literacy a rightful heritage of every American 
child? 

The state demands this condition for its own security and prog- 
ress, but the individual requires it for his own freedom, efficiency, 
and personal success in life. Viewed from this angle, the test 
results show that in New York state the rural child, the boy and 
girl growing up in the open country, where the one-teacher schools 
prevail, is placed at a disadvantage with urban children by the 
inferior type of education which is offered to him. 

Spelling 

Conclusions similar to those derived from the reading tests may 
be drawn from the examinations in spelling. A list of 20 words 
was given to all the pupils from grades 3 to 8 in all the schools ex- 
amined. The same words were given to all pupils. The list, 
which is the same as that used in the Virginia survey, is as follows: 
come, was, foot, happy, could, once, pretty, always, uncle, beautiful, 
surprise, vessel, century, invitation, necessary, experience, athletic, 
convenient, decision, recommend. All these words are found in 
the Ayres Spelling Scale, where their difficulty is evaluated. All 
the words are in frequent use by pupils of elementary grades. 
Each grade was scored for the words best adapted to test the 
spelling ability of that grade. The median score for each grade 
should be 66 percent of correct spellings. The test shows that 
pupils in one-teacher schools achieve correct spellings as follows: 
sixth grade, 60 percent; eighth grade, 74 percent. For the larger 
schools the results were sixth grade, 70 percent, and the eighth 
grade, 84 percent. 

These results compare favorably with the Ayres standards. On 
the other hand, there is the same discrepancy between the scores 
for the larger and for the smaller schools — additional evidence of 
the inferior schooling to be found in the one-teacher schools. 

1 59 



American History 

Recent events of world-wide interest have emphasized the im- 
portance attached to a knowledge of American history on the part 
of all active citizens. By general assent the basic facts of our history 
are proper subject matter for the elementary schools. The syllabus 
of the New York State Department of Education provides for 
teaching the essential facts about important personages connected 
with American history in the fifth grade, and the rural schools are 
advised "to begin this work about October first and continue it to 
completion with two lessons a week." For the seventh and eighth 
grades the syllabus plans " 200 lessons " in history, and makes pro- 
vision for correlating such material with geography and literature. 

In trying to evaluate the efficiency of the rural schools, there- 
fore, it seemed pertinent to inquire as to the amount of historic 
knowledge which is possessed by the pupils. Accordingly, two 
American history tests 1 were given to 2000 pupils in grades 7 and 8. 

Two types of questions were used — information questions and 
thought questions. The information questions were designed to 
show how many of the basic facts of American history were known 
by the pupils. The questions ranged from easy to difficult — from 
naming any battle of the Revolutionary War to arranging a group 
of states in the order of their admission to the Union. The thought 
questions provided a given set of facts and asked the pupil to record 
an intelligent inference based on these facts. They, too, were 
arranged with the easiest problems first. Both of these tests had 
been given earlier in the schools of New York city and in many 
other places. Comparison of results is, therefore, easy. From 
Table 21 it may be seen that invariably the rural schools in the 
state score below the standards derived from city schools, eighth- 
grade children in the larger rural schools standing about midway 
between New York city seventh and eighth grades. In smaller 
schools the eighth-grade achievement is below that of city seventh 
grades, and is about a year short of the ability shown by the larger 
rural schools. A graphic representation of these facts is given in 
Diagrams 15 and 16. 

1 Selected items from the Van Wagenen American History Scales. 
160 



Table 21. — History Information and Thought Questions, Grade 8. 
Median Scores for One- and Four-teacher Schools, also Standard 
Norms for Grades 7 and 8 

Information Thought 

One-teacher schools 30.6 29.4 

Four-teacher schools 38.5 36.8 

Standards for Grade 7 32.0 32.0 

Standards for Grade 8 42.0 42.0 



Schools Median Achievement 

New York rural one- 
teacher 31 
Grade 8 



New York city 32 [" 

Grade 7 ■" 



New York rural 

four-teacher 

Grade 8 



New York city 42 i I 

Grade 8 U, , I 

Diagram 15. — History — information. Showing median achievement in 
grade 8, one- and four-teacher schools, of New York rural schools, and median 
achievement of grades 7 and 8 in New York city schools 



Schools Median Achievement 

New York rural one- 
teacher 29 
Grade 8 



New York city 
Grade 7 



New York rural 

four-teacher 

Grade 8 



New York city 42 I I 

Grade 8 ' ' 

Diagram 16. — History — thought. Showing median achievement in grade 8, 
one- and four-teacher schools, of New York rural schools, and median achieve- 
ment of grades 7 and 8 in New York city schools 

ii 161 



This result is in keeping with the results of the reading tests, 
and is doubtless closely connected with the deficiency of reading 
achievement on the part of rural pupils. Children who cannot read 
have not the tools necessary to master American history. The 
lives of American leaders, the steady march of progress across the 
American continent, the industrial revolution, the writing of the 
American constitution, the social, economic, and political evolution 
of the American nation, are to them a closed book, closed as effec- 
tively as if it were written in a foreign language or were sealed 
under a combination lock. 

Events connected with the World War made us think much 
about our problems of Americanizing the foreigners who come to 
our shores. This is an important matter. It is equally important 
that our public schools shall lay the basis for Americanizing our 
native born. The foundation of a genuine Americanization is a 
knowledge of American history, and the basis of acquiring this 
knowledge is an adequate mastery of the language in which that 
history is recorded. Judged by the degree to which their pupils 
have this knowledge and mastery, the rural schools of New York 
are distinctly deficient. 

Arithmetic 
The smaller schools make their best relative showing in the tests 
in the fundamentals of arithmetic, a field which is hardly less im- 
portant than that of reading. To measure the achievements of the 
schools in addition and in multiplication two tests 1 were given, ten 
minutes being allotted to each. The problems in each test ranged 
from easy to difficult. The following are representative examples: 





Addition 




22 
26 


3 + 1 = .75 

1.25 

.44 

Multiplication 


2^ 
3# 


3X7 = 


1036 2.87 
8 .05 


6.25 
3.2 


1 Woody, 


Clifford S.: Arithmetical Scales, Series B. 
162 





The score in each of these tests is the number of problems cor- 
rectly solved. For eighth-grade pupils the median standard score 
in addition is 18.5, and in multiplication it is 18. These standards 
are based on September tests. The New York tests were given in 
April and May. The scores should, therefore, be at least equal 
to the standard scores, since the pupils have had almost a year 
more of schooling. Without exception, however (see Table 22), 
the New York scores fall below the standards. They are also be- 
low the scores for good city schools throughout the country. 



Table 22. — Arithmetic: Addition and Multiplication. Median Scores 
for Rural Schools and Standard Comparative Scores 





Addition 


Multiplication 




Grade 5 


Grade 8 


Grade 5 


Grade 8 




One- 
teacher 


Four- 
teacher 


One- 
teacher 


Four- 
teacher 


One- 
teacher 


Four- 
teacher 


One- 
teacher 


Four- 
teacher 


New York 


13.4 


14.1 


16.2 


16.6 


12.5 


13.6 


16.9 


16.8 


Webster 

City, Iowa 
Denver, 

Colo. 
Seattle, 

Wash.... 
Pittsburgh, 

Pa 






18.1 
15.7 
17.4 
15.5 






17.9 
15.8 
17.8 
15.2 


Woody 

Standards, 
Septem- 
ber scores 


1 


1 


IS 


.5 


1 


1 


18 


.0 



In a general examination, the results of which will be reported in 
full in a later volume of this report, there occurred a test in the 
solution of arithmetical problems. The first problem was: 

"How many are 30 men and 7 men?" 
163 



The successive problems, 20 in all, increased in difficulty. These 
problems called for the ability both to think out a method of solu- 
tion and to make accurate computations. 

The results of the test are shown in Table 23, where the median 
scores are given for the one- and the four-teacher schools. The 
norms for the test are also given. These results tend to the same 
conclusion already derived from the reading, spelling, and history 
tests, namely, that the small rural schools do work inferior to that 
of the larger rural schools, and the latter seldom reach the standard 
norm. The smaller schools lag behind about a full year in most 
grades. 

Table 23. — Arithmetical Reasoning: Exercise 2 of Intelligence Exami- 
nation, DelTa 2. One- and Four-room Schools, Grades 3 to 8. Median 
Scores by Grades. Standard Scores by Grades 





Grades 




3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


Standards 


5.0 
3.9 
4.9 


7.0 
5.5 
5.6 


9.0 
6.6 

7.7 


10.5 
9.0 
9.8 


11.5 

10.4 
12.1 


13.0 


One-room schools 


11.3 


Four-room schools 


12.3 







Algebra 

In selecting schools for testing, all the schools of a supervisory 
district were included. In this way tests were given to all high 
school pupils of a district, whether these pupils were found in large, 
well-organized high schools or in small classes connected with upper 
elementary grades. The achievements of these high school pupils 
in reading have already been noted. Algebra tests were given 
to all pupils who had studied the subject three months or more, 
and who, at the time of the test, were studying it. 

The algebra tests 1 used were those devised by Dr. H. G. Hotz. 
Two tests, — addition and subtraction and equation and formula, — 
each requiring twenty minutes of the pupil's time, were given to 
about 1000 high school students. Careful record was made of the 

l Hotz, H. G.: Algebra Scales. Teachers College, Bureau of Publications. 

164 



time each pupil had studied algebra and the results were tabulated 
in terms of this time. Most of the students are included in the 
group which had studied algebra one year, or about eight school 
months, at the time of the test. 

The Hotz tests, which are based on the type of algebra prescribed 
in the New York syllabus, have had wide general use. The stan- 
dards given in Table 24 are based on the achievements of pupils in 
good city schools. It will be observed in the table that the larger 
New York rural schools exceed by a slight margin the Hotz stan- 
dards. The records which are given separately for schools having 
not more than three high school teachers show that these smaller 
schools are achieving results very much inferior to the Hotz stan- 
dard, and very much below the larger high schools tested in the 
survey. 

Table 24. — Algebra, Hotz: Addition and Subtraction Tests and Equation 

and Formula Tests. Median Scores for Pupils Studying Eight 
Months 

Addition and Equation 

Subtraction and Formula 

Hotz standards 7.5 7.6 

New York — less than four-teacher 5.8 6.0 

New York — four- and more teacher 7.6 8.0 

Rochester 6.1 8.2 

Buffalo 6.1 5.3 

Greigsville 7.1 7.7 

The table shows separately the scores for a junior high school in 
the city of Rochester, for one in the city of Buffalo, and for the con- 
solidated school at Greigsville. In these schools the tests were 
given for the purpose of securing comparative scores. 

The results show that the larger rural schools are doing as good 
work in the teaching of algebra as is being done in any one of these 
three schools. In only one case, however, do these comparative 
scores fall as low as the median result for the smaller rural schools. 
That single case is the Buffalo junior high school, which makes a 
low score in the equation and formula test. Every other possible 
comparison from Table 24 is to the disadvantage of the high schools 
having fewer than four teachers. 

There is much difference of opinion as to the advisability of teach- 
ing algebra to all high school students. There is practically no 

165 



dissension regarding the importance of teaching it well if it is 
taught at all. Inasmuch as the schools examined do essay to 
teach the subject, they are subject to the charge of inefficient work 
on the basis of the relatively poor showing which their pupils make. 

Latin 

Latin is an optional subject in New York high schools. It is, 
however, required for entrance to most eastern colleges, and the 
State Department requires Latin in its college entrance exami- 
nations. In the State Department syllabus covering Latin the 
vocabulary is arranged by half-years, with the injunction that 
" the pupil should have at command 90 percent or more of the 1000 
words laid down for the first two years." 

The Latin vocabulary tests 1 used in the survey consisted of 50 
words, 41, or 82 percent, of which are contained in the New York 
syllabus for the first year. Basing the score on these 41 words, 
the New York criterion of 90 percent accuracy would require 74 
percent score on the test. 

A Latin sentence test was also given. This test used words 
almost all of which are in the New York syllabus lists for the first 
two half-years. The syllabus gives no standard for this type of 
achievement, but such standards have been derived from a wide 
use of the tests in representative high schools throughout the 
country. 

The achievements of the New York rural schools in these two 
Latin tests, as may be seen from Table 25, is not up to the expec- 
tancy of the State Department syllabus, nor is it up to the standards 
set by the extensive use of the tests in other cities. In the vo- 
cabulary test New York expects 74 percent and gets 50 percent 
from the smaller schools and 55 percent for the larger schools. 
The Henmon standard requires 66 percent, which is considerably 
above the achievement of the New York schools tested. This 
deficiency is also apparent in the sentence tests, which show an 
achievement of 20 percent where the standard requires 25 percent. 
The smaller schools, however, do as well as the larger schools. 

1 Henmon Latin Tests, World Book Company, Yonkers-on-Hudson, N. Y., 
1921. 

166 



For comparative purposes the Latin tests were given in one of 
the junior high schools in the city of Rochester and in the high 
school at Greigsville. In general, these schools show better achieve- 
ment than do the rural schools, particularly when the age of the 
pupils is considered. Rochester pupils, with a median age of 14.8 
years, score better than the larger rural schools, with a median 
age of 15.1 years. The Greigsville scores in vocabulary are equal 
to the best rural schools and the sentence scores are superior. 

Table 25. — Henmon Latin Test. First Year High School Pupils Who 
Have Studied Latin One School Year. Median Scores for Vocabulary 
and Sentence Tests; also Standard Scores 

Vocabulary Sentence 

Henmon Standards 66 25 

New York Expectancy 74 

Less than four-teacher schools 50 20 

Four- and more teacher schools 55 20 

Rochester 56 30 

Greigsville 55 28 

Larger School Units 
In recent years the consolidated school has been widely recom- 
mended as an effective means for improving rural education, and in 
New York state as well as elsewhere considerable consolidation has 
taken place. The test results in the survey apparently justify such 
larger school units. Almost without exception the median test 
scores are higher in these larger schools than they are in the smaller 
one-teacher schools. Although these differences have already been 
stressed in this chapter, it is so important a matter that a further 
word may be justified. In Table 26 the scores in the upper-grade 
reading test are given in terms of the ages of the pupils. Ten-year- 
old pupils in one-room schools are here shown with a median score 
of 38, and in the four-teacher schools with a score of 56. This 
difference of 18 points is more than a year's improvement. The 
difference for some other ages is not so great, but the data show 
a constant superiority of the larger school units in developing read- 
ing ability on the part of the pupils. 1 The figures of Table 26 

1 The figures for the upper ages are complicated by the inclusion of all high 
school pupils examined, smaller high schools being included with one-room 
elementary schools. 

167 



Table 26. — Reading Examination, Sigma 3. Median Scores by Ages for 
All Pupils Tested in One-teacher Schools and in the Larger Schools. 
In the Latter are Included the Pupils of These Ages Found in High 
Schools in the Districts Examined 





Ages 




10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 

62 
82 


16 

67 
93 


17 

59 
110 


18 

66 
105 


19 


One-teacher schools 

Four-teacher schools 


38 
56 


42 
57 


45 
63 


67 
71 


68 
79 


111 



Score 
120 



100 



80 



60 



20 















/ 
/ 
/ 


s> 


S 












• 
• 


f 










La 


rge sc 


lOOlS „ 


f 












X 


y 




Smal 


L schot 


)1S 






's 


,' / 
















*' 





















































10 

Age 



11 



13 



14 



15 



16 



17 



18 



Diagram 17. — Reading examination, Sigma 3. Median scores by ages for 
all pupils tested in one-teacher schools and in the larger schools. In the latter 
are included pupils of these ages found in the high schools in the districts ex- 
amined 

168 



are shown graphically in Diagram 17. The upper curve represents 
by ages the achievements of pupils in the larger schools. The 
lower curve shows the results for the one-teacher elementary schools. 

The superiority of the larger school unit thus apparent in the re- 
sults of the New York tests is supported by results found elsewhere. 
The same difference appeared in the Virginia, North Carolina, and 
Kentucky surveys, and, in fact, wherever the two types of schools 
have been measured by the same tests. This constancy of the dif- 
ference is such as to identify these smaller schools with inferior 
achievement, and to raise in the mind of every patron of the 
one-room schools the desire for an improvement of school condi- 
tions. 

Mere size of the school is hardly to be credited with this difference 
in scores. It is the superior advantages that go along with the 
larger school unit that are important. Better buildings, better 
equipment, better teachers, better classification of pupils, better 
school instruction are all made possible by the union of interests, 
the increase of school revenue, and the better school administra- 
tion and supervision consequent upon increase in the size of the 
school. 

Let us consider, for example, one factor which all will admit is 
important in determining the product of any school, namely, the 
training of the teacher. A careful record was made in the case of 
every school tested of the amount and kind of training of every 
teacher whose pupils were examined. A study of these records shows 
that in the larger schools the median training of elementary teachers 
is two years beyond a four-year high school course, and that 44 per- 
cent of these teachers are graduates of a two-year normal course. 
On the other hand, only 9 percent of the teachers in one-room 
schools have two years' normal training, and the median training of 
these teachers is four years of high school work plus summer courses 
of six weeks or more in normal schools. 

Whatever the detailed cause may be, however, the fact remains 
that the one-teacher school is a less productive educational institu- 
tion than is the larger school unit, and the pupils who attend the 
smaller schools are being handicapped for life by this fact. If the 
state of New York is to secure to the pupils of these more isolated 

169 



regions a fair educational opportunity, it must change and improve 
these schools. It is probable that the most effective means for such 
improvements is consolidation of school districts wherever that is 
possible. Where such enlarging of the school district is not feasible, 
heroic efforts should be made to bring to these smaller schools the 
necessary conditions for improved work at whatever cost. 



170 



CHAPTER X 

FURTHER EVIDENCE ON THE WORK OF THE 
SCHOOLS 

A SUBJECT of frequent discussion is the efficiency of the 
country school when contrasted with the schools found in 
" cities and villages. Chapter IX, which treats of the Educa- 
tional Product of New York state's rural schools, furnishes the 
most nearly complete and definite answer that we have to this ques- 
tion. There is, however, evidence available from other sources that 
will help in drawing conclusions on this important problem. 

In connection with its study of the schools, the committee secured 
information regarding the progress of pupils through the elementary 
schools. This was done because one measure of the efficiency of a 
system of schools is the extent to which pupils finish the work of 
each grade on schedule time. Data were obtained by sending blanks 
to 917 schools in 22 supervisory districts. These districts were in 
various sections of the state. On these blanks information was ob- 
tained regarding the age and grade of each child in the schools as 
of April 15, 1921. Returns that were usable were obtained from 801 
one-teacher schools and from 46 larger schools, none of which had 
academic departments. The data that were obtained made it pos- 
sible to compute the median age of the beginners. It was found to 
be 6.9 years. On this basis it was decided that if a pupil was in the 
first grade at either six or seven years of age, to consider him of 
normal age. This statement was used in determining the rate of 
progress in the upper grades. 

Fortunately, there were in the State Department of Education 
reports showing the ages and grades for pupils in the elementary 
schools of union free school districts for the year 1918-19 for the 
territory covered by this phase of the survey. This material was 

171 



used for comparison with that obtained from the common school 
districts. In making these comparisons the same basis was used for 
determining whether pupils were making the normal progress as 
was used in the elementary schools without academic departments. 

It is out of question to present in this report all the data that were 
obtained, but portions are of such vital interest that every rural 
school patron should know them. In other instances only gen- 
eral conclusions can be given. 

It was found that throughout the grades the percentage of pupils 
making the normal rate of progress was less in the one-teacher 
schools than in the grades in the union free schools. The total per- 
centage of boys that made the normal rate of progress was 52.1 in the 
one-teacher schools, while in the elementary schools with academic 
departments it was 57.3. The corresponding figures for girls were 
56.8 percent and 58.4 percent respectively. The differences are even 
more pronounced for those who failed to make normal progress. 
The following table gives a general idea of the situation: 

Table 27. — Showing Percentage of Pupils Making Normal Progress, 
Failing to make Normal Progress, and Making Progress More Rapidly 
than Normal 

Total Percentage That 
Type of School Sex Were Making Normal 

Progress 

One-teacher school Boys 52.1 

Girls 56.8 

Grades of union free school Boys 57.3 

Girls 58.4 

Total Percentage Failing to 
Make Normal Progress 

One-teacher school Boys 39.3 

Girls 31.2 

Grades of union free school Boys 27.9 

Girls 22.1 

Total Percentage Making 
Progress More Rapidly 
than Normal 

One-teacher school Boys 8.5 

Girls 11.9 

Grades of union free school Boys 14.8 

Girls 19.5 

It is not only desirable to know what percentage is delayed, but it 
is very important to know to what extent the pupils are delayed. It is 
very evident that it is unfortunate from the standpoint of effective 

172 



teaching to have pupils in the same class who differ greatly in their 
ages. A considerable number of cases were found of pupils fourteen, 
fifteen, and sixteen years old in grades 1, 2, and 3. In extreme in- 
stances fifteen-year-old pupils were found in the first grade. Such a 
situation works decidedly to the disadvantage of both younger 
and older pupils, and makes it impossible for the teacher to do satis- 
factory work. The extent to which this is a problem in the one- 
teacher schools as contrasted with the grades in union free school 
districts is shown by the following table: 

Table 28. — Showing Percentage of Pupils Delayed One or More Years 
in Their Progress Through the Elementary School 

Grades in 

One-teacher Union Free 
Number of Years Pupils were Delayed Schools Schools 

Four or more years 2.5 percent 1.5 percent 

Three years 3.9 " 2.9 

Two years 9.4 " 6.6 " 

One year 20.4 " 13.6 " 

It is clear that the retardation of pupils is much more pronounced 
in the country schools than it is in the grades of the union free 
schools. 

In addition to these general statements, for which data are given, 
evidence was obtained in these same schools that justified the fol- 
lowing conclusions: 

1. The average age of boys in the second grade in the one-teacher 
schools is 1.52 years more than that of the average age in the first 
grade. During the second, third, and fourth grades more time is 
lost, so that they enter the fifth grade practically one year behind. 
From this time on they begin to drop out of school. The same ten- 
dencies are found in the village schools, but they are not nearly so 
pronounced. 

2. The elimination of pupils from the one-teacher schools begins 
at thirteen years, and is in full progress at fourteen, while it is one 
year later in the union free school districts. Evidence that cor- 
roborates this point was found in the study made by the Military 
Training Commission. It will be given later. 

3. Nearly one-fifth of all children in one-teacher schools are in the 

i73 



first grade, one-third in the first and second grades, and three-fifths 
are in the first four grades. 

The statistics on which these statements are based cover thou- 
sands of children in all parts of the state. They are to be regarded 
as much more conclusive evidence regarding the efficiency of the 
one-teacher schools than are opinions based on the observation of 
a few cases that may not be in accord with these findings. 

Recently a report was issued by the Military Training Commis- 
sion 1 that contains facts that assist still further in making com- 
parisons of the relative efficiency of country schools as contrasted 
with those of cities and villages of the states. In this study certain 
facts were obtained regarding the education of the sixteen-, seven- 
teen-, and eighteen-year-old boys of the state. It was found that 
only one in seven of the boys of these ages was in school. Of 
the 147,925 employed boys, — those no longer attending school, — 
14,529 were farm boys. The median age at which these boys had 
left school varied little with the size of the place in which they lived. 
In New York city it was 15.5 years, while the farm boys left at the 
median age of 15.8 years. When this is borne in mind, the figures in 
the following table, showing the percentage completing the eighth 
grade, are of interest: 

Table 29. — Showing Percentage of Employed Boys that had Completed 
the Eighth Grade Before Leaving School 



Cities under 25,000 49.8 percent 
Cities over 25,000.. 55.6 
Greater New York. 61.5 " 



Farm boys 41.5 percent 

Places under 5000. 47.9 " 
Villages over 5000. 49.7 " 

Boys from Percent 

Farms 41.5 

Places under 5000 47.9 
Villages over 5000 49.7 
Cities under 25,000 49.8 
Cities over 25,000 55.6 
Greater New York 61.5 

Diagram 18. — Showing percentage of employed boys sixteen, seventeen, and 
eighteen years of age, on farms and in the various urban centers, who had com- 
pleted the eighth grade before leaving school 

1 Burdge: A Study of Employed Boys. 

174 




The table which follows shows the number of grades completed 
by the median of the employed boys before he left school: 

Table 30. — Showing Median Grade Completed by Boys from Communities 

of Varying Size 

Farm boys 7.7 grades 

Places under 5000 7.9 

Villages over 5000 8.0 

Cities under 25,000 8.0 

Cities over 25,000 8.2 

Greater New York 8.3 

These figures are even more striking when consideration is given 
to the fact that only 3 percent of the farm boys were foreign born, 
while in all other communities outside of Greater New York 10 per- 
cent were foreign born and in Greater New York 20 percent were 
foreign born. This study showed that in places over 25,000 the 
median foreign-born boy completed only 7.3 grades, whereas the 
American-born boy with American parents completed 8.4 grades, 
and the median American-born boy with foreign-born parents com- 
pleted 7.9 grades. 

The fact that these farm boys did not complete as many grades 
before leaving school as those of other communities, although they 
left school somewhat older, might be attributed to the fact that they 
entered school later. That this is not the complete explanation is 
shown by the following data, giving the rate of progress per year 
through the grades: 

Table 31. — Showing Varying Lengths of Time Required for Employed 
Boys to Complete a Grade in School 

Farm boys 82.8 percent of a grade per year 

Boys in places under 5000 84.9 " "" " " " 

Boys in villages over 5000 85.1 " "" " " " 

Cities under 25,000 86.9 " "" " " " 

Greater New York 92.2 " "" " " " 

Further information regarding the extent to which these boys 
persisted in school in the various communities is furnished 
by Table 32. 



i75 



Table 32. — Sixteen-, Seventeen-, and Eighteen- Year- Old Employed 
Boys, Last Grade Completed. Percent of Boys Reporting Each Grade 
as the Last One Completed. Summary for New York State 













Grades 










Total 






















Groups 


Fourth 

or 
under 


Fifth 


Sixth 


Seventh 


Eighth 


First 
H. S. 


Second 
H. S. 


Third 
H. S. 


Fourth 
H. S. 


Per- 
cent 


Greater New 






















York 


5.7 


2.5 


7.4 


22.9 


43.5 


8.8 


5.9 


2.3 


1.0 


100.0 


Cities over 






















25,000... 


3.4 


4.0 


15.2 


21.8 


31.4 


13.0 


7.2 


2.7 


1.3 


100.0 


Cities under 






















25,000. .. 


4.9 


5.9 


17.5 


21.9 


26.1 


13.4 


6.9 


2.2 


1.2 


100.0 


Villages over 






















5000 


5.2 


6.2 


16.7 


22.2 


27.5 


12.2 


6.4 


2.4 


1.2 


100.0 


Places un- 






















der 5000. 


4.2 


6.4 


17.6 


23.9 


26.9 


10.9 


6.2 


1.9 


2.0 


100.0 


Employed 






















farm boys 


3.2 


7.5 


18.3 


29.5 


29.1 


6.8 


3.7 


1.2 


0.7 


100.0 



No attempt will be made to account for these facts. They are 
offered as one basis for more definite discussion of the relative effi- 
ciency of the country school than one can possibly obtain by his 
own observations. They should answer the questions of whether or 
not the country school is holding its pupils as effectively as the 
schools in the larger centers, and whether they come as near keeping 
the pupils moving at the normal rate of progress. 



176 



T 



CHAPTER XI 

COMMUNITY RELATIONS 

Statement of Purpose and Principles 
HE function of the school is to educate children of certain 
specified ages and abilities. With certain limited exceptions, 
everything the school does should contribute directly or 
indirectly to this major purpose. In no case is the school justified 
in undertaking anything that would interfere with its initial re- 
sponsibility. 

The teacher cannot accomplish this purpose by confining his 
work to the materials and opportunities found within the school- 
room. The old formal text-book work is not sufficient. He must 
use every available means, both inside and outside of school, to 
accomplish his end. Community resources and opportunities of 
every sort, extra-curricular activities, and other social agencies 
must be made to contribute to the children's education. 

Moreover, the teacher cannot do it alone. A successful school 
of to-day can be realized only through a hearty and constant co- 
operation between teacher and patrons. The mere paying of taxes 
is not enough. Visiting the school, attending its entertainments, 
seeking its improvement, providing home life for the teacher, con- 
sidering with her many school problems, giving her encouragement 
and moral support, are some of the community's responsibilities. 
To make a good school the teacher, then, must oftentimes work 
not only with the children, but with the parents, to develop in them 
this understanding and appreciation of school work and to foster 
an interest in its support. 

This better type of school will be much more closely related to 
community life. Every phase of school work will be thus related 
more or less. The course of study must be suited to the needs of 
the children, available resources should be utilized, subject matter 
should be taught in terms of the child's experience. This implies 
12 177 



that the effective class-room teacher must have a more intimate 
knowledge both of the home and of the community conditions and 
the experiences of the children. 

This question of the course of study is treated elsewhere in this 
report, and will not be considered specifically here. In this section 
we are primarily concerned with those phases of school work which 
involve a larger degree of school and community relation. 

Just what relations should obtain between those who are in charge 
of the schools and the life of the community? In answer to this 
question, and as a basis for this study, the following activities are 
suggested, which, we hold, should be carried on by each teacher, 
principal, or district superintendent. They will vary somewhat 
with the different agencies for education. The relation of the 
teacher in the open-country school to her community will often- 
times be more neighborly and intimate. The rural high school, 
because of the nature of its work, would be in a position to establish 
many community contacts. Those high schools offering instruc- 
tion in agriculture and home making would have many unique 
opportunities for cooperation with the farm and home. The dis- 
trict superintendent, as general director of his district, would be 
especially responsible for enlisting the community's interest in the 
support and improvement of the school and in cooperating with 
other agencies and forces. In principle, however, these demands are 
the same for all rural educators. They are briefly stated as follows: 

A. Activities for which rural educators are responsible. 

1. To promote and provide extra-curricular activities which 
are an outgrowth of school work or a fundamental part of 
it, such as the work of the school nurse, school exhibits and 
fairs, entertainments, and social activities. 

2. To assist in educating the community into an adequate 
appreciation and support of education through every avail- 
able means. This should include, wherever feasible, the 
formation of some organization or committee giving spe- 
cial attention to school improvement and also hearty co- 
operation with those organizations or agencies somewhat 
concerned in school improvement. 

178 



B. Activities in which educators should cooperate. 

1. School people should cooperate with other agencies or 
organizations in order both to improve educational oppor- 
tunities for the children and, in so far as it is consistent with 
an effective education for children, to assist these organiza- 
tions in their own work. 

2. When these other agencies are not in existence or fail to 
function, educators are justified in seeking to create such 
conditions in the community as are quite essential to their 
own effective service. 

3. Educators and local school officials should cooperate in 
furthering the use of the school plant as a general center for 
community meetings and activities whenever that is de- 
sired. 

C. Activities of educators as citizens. 

1. Educators should, as citizens, be vitally interested in every 
question of public concern and every effort for community 
improvement, such as Americanization of the immigrants, 
enriching the spiritual life of the community, stimulating 
cooperation, developing the social life, exercising community 
leadership, or any other question of rural life or general 
social progress. 

D. Corresponding responsibilities of the community and other 

organizations. 

1. The community, in addition to formal responsibility ex- 
pressed through the paying of taxes and electing trustees, 
should give the teacher the most loyal support and en- 
couragement, constructive criticism and suggestions, and 
provide a satisfactory home and social environment. 

2. Other agencies should cooperate with the school both to 
further their own ends and to assist the school. But they 
should not attempt to use the school as a means of pro- 
moting their own ends if this interferes in any way with 
the school's primary function. 

3. Other agencies or organizations should not usurp or under- 
take to carry on the legitimate activities of the school or 
educational forces. 

179 



Findings of the Survey on the Community Relations of New 
York Rural Schools 

For Rural Teachers and One- and Two-Teacher Country Schools. — 
Information for the present study on the community relations 
of New York rural schools was secured from a questionnaire filled 
out by 1480 rural teachers and from personal visits made by field 
workers to 173 widely scattered rural schools. 

The general purpose throughout these inquiries was to see how 
fully the average rural school of New York discharges the com- 
munity obligations set up as proper standards for such work in the 
preceding pages of this discussion. With this end in view, five 
questions on the blank in a total of ten attempted to learn what 
activities and opportunities rural teachers created for educating 
their communities into an adequate appreciation and support of 
schools. From these inquiries it developed that only 26 rural 
schools, or 1.7 percent of the 1480 reporting, had a definite organ- 
ization for adults giving special attention to school affairs. These 
26 organizations were parent-teacher associations. Twenty-seven 
schools report farm and home bureaus or granges as assisting in the 
advancement of school needs, however, and 21 schools report the 
same assistance from general community clubs, making a total of 
3.2 percent for assistance from cooperating organizations, as 
against 1.7 percent for assistance from specialized organizations 
devoting full attention to school needs. From this it is apparent 
that when the rural school forces of New York try at all to reach 
the public for school purposes, they do so through the channels 
of regular farm organizations. The vitality and influence of these 
organizations are to be determined in part by their frequency of 
meeting. From this point of view it is significant that 44 met 
monthly, 18 oftener than once a month, and 12 less often. 

Realizing that many districts lacking definite organization would 
still hold community meetings for the discussion of school issues, 
a second question on the blank related to gatherings of this type. 
Here the results are more encouraging: 714, or 48 percent, reported 
meetings of this kind. Most of these, — 525, or 73 percent, — -on 
the other hand, were mere school entertainments, and it is doubtful 
whether they assisted greatly in enlightening the community to- 

180 



ward a larger support and appreciation of education. That the 
people of the state are generally interested in the type of gathering 
held is indicated by the report of good attendance for 31 percent 
of these meetings, and of poor attendance for but 3 percent. 

The influence of the typical school building of the state upon 
the community activities of teachers and school agents is apparent 
from the fact that 49 percent of the schools reporting claim no 
conveniences whatever for community gatherings, not even such 
common necessities as coat-rooms, good lights, or movable seats. 
From this and the general study of school buildings, given else- 
where in this report, it is easy to understand why but few 
rural school plants are used as "community centers" or general 
meeting-places for other agencies and activities of the com- 
munity. 

But the rural teacher should find additional opportunities, other 
than through community meetings or definite school organizations, 
for educating the public into an adequate appreciation of school. 
One of these lies in persuading school patrons to visit schools and 
thus become acquainted with the purposes and needs of education. 
Another arises from the personal contacts secured through mem- 
bership in general community organizations. In both these respects 
New York rural teachers rank high. Only 139 of the total number 
replying report no visitors at school during the year, while 813, or 
55 percent, record the visits of from 5 to 40 school patrons. Of 
all teachers reporting, 957, or 64 percent, testify to membership 
in one or more community organizations in the communities where 
they teach. Most of this (691 mentions) is church membership or 
Sunday-school participation (539). Now in order comes the Red 
Cross, with 320 reports, the Grange, with 289, and the Farm and 
Home Bureau, with 146. 

The general practice in providing extra-curricular or outside so- 
cialized activities for children was investigated. As was noted in 
the preceding section, 525 teachers reported having school enter- 
tainments in which the patrons were generally interested. From 
the teacher's reports it was found that health clubs and Crusaders 
are organized in 1056, or 71 percent, of the schools reporting. 
Home projects or junior extension work is organized in 312 (21 per- 

181 



cent). This indicates that rural schools are limited both in scope 
and in number of extra-curricular activities. 

That teachers are cooperating somewhat with other organiza- 
tions established for children is shown by the following facts. The 
Junior Red Cross is organized in 226, or 15 percent, of the districts 
reporting, Boy Scouts in 146, or 9 percent, Girl Scouts in 38, or 2 
percent, and Camp Fire Girls in 24, or 1.6 percent. In the above 
activities — both those for which the teacher is responsible and those 
with whose activities he should cooperate — teachers report them- 
selves as leaders in 792, or 53 percent, of the cases given, and as 
but partially responsible in 6 percent. They are, however, far more 
often leaders in health clubs and junior extension work than in the 
other activities. This is as it should be, since these are primarily 
the school's responsibility. 

Few facts are at hand to indicate to what extent the rural teachers 
cooperate with other rural organizations in the many passing rela- 
tions that arise. From reports of the field workers it appears that 
New York rural teachers are not prepared for a large degree of co- 
operation. Almost 80 percent show no qualifications whatever 
in this direction, while two-thirds are reported as comprehending 
the social and economic problems of rural life "very little" or "not 
at all." The underlying cause for all this is revealed later, when it 
is reported that only 6 percent of the teachers seen had ever had 
any course of training for this purpose, and these but "slight 
preparation" as gained from institutes and occasional lectures and 
books. 

The degree to which the teacher, as citizen, is a forceful influence 
in the rural community may be gathered partly from the following: 
Twenty-eight percent of all rural teachers report themselves as 
holding offices in one or more community organizations. These 
offices, however, are largely assistantships, including chiefly Sun- 
day-school positions and secretarial responsibilities for granges 
and lodges. This whole question of leadership was gauged also in 
the reports of field visitors. Here the evidence is less compli- 
mentary. Among 158 teachers observed, only 54, or 34 percent, 
are reported as possessing "the necessary qualifications for effective 
leadership to any appreciable degree." 

182 



In determining their knowledge of home conditions as a basis for 
teaching a good school, teachers were asked as to the number of 
families they had visited in person during the year. Here a highly 
creditable record is shown. Of those reporting, 207, or 14 percent, 
had called upon all the families in the district from which children 
were enrolled, while 934, or 63 percent, had visited over half the 
families represented in their schools. Of the teachers considered, 
84 percent claim, further, that they are making specific attempts, 
through regular school work, to develop a good community attitude 
on the part of their pupils in matters of health, good government, 
fair business dealing, and accepted social standards. 

For High School Principals and Rural and Village High Schools. — 
The data from high schools and community relations have proved 
so scant and unsatisfactory that further studies are necessary. 
These are now under way, and will be completed soon and included 
in the final report of this division. Through the kindness of Pro- 
fessor Emery N. Ferriss, of Cornell University, enough facts are 
available, however, to indicate tendencies. 

Among 392 high schools, 158, or 40 percent, report some commu- 
nity organization actively cooperating with the school. Chief 
among these are 74 parent-teacher associations and 55 granges. 
In this connection it is significant that 19 percent of the high schools 
report parent-teacher associations, while only 1.7 percent of the 
country schools report such organizations. 

In extra-curricular activities high schools outstrip rural schools 
also, 402, or almost 100 percent, reporting affirmatively here, while 
the proportion for rural schools on the same point was only 71 
percent. 

Another significant community activity of village high schools 
for the purposes of this study is to be found in the work of princi- 
pals for interesting rural pupils in high school work. Of the 385 
schools tabulated on this inquiry by Professor Ferriss, 174, or 22 
percent, made some form of appeal to country children. This is 
good, so far as it goes, but when it is recalled that the village high 
school presents practically the only opportunity of the rural child 
for secondary education, the inadequacy of this effort becomes 
apparent. 

183 



The Community Activities of District Superintendents. — The com- 
munity activities of district superintendents were studied chiefly 
from returns on a questionnaire filled out by 180 of the 207 officers 
of this type in the state. First-hand impressions were gathered 
from a number of field visitors also, and much has been learned as 
a by-product from the study of rural schools. 

The chief community responsibility of the district superinten- 
dent, as for the teacher, aside from his fundamental function of 
assisting in providing good instruction, is undoubtedly that of 
educating the community into an adequate appreciation and sup- 
port of schools. In this he carries more responsibility than any 
other school agent. For this reason most of the direct inquiries 
put to superintendents related to this point. 

Of the superintendents reporting, 145, or 80 percent, had ad- 
dressed one or more school and community meetings during the 
year. But 29, or 16 percent, report addressing no meetings of any 
kind, and 125, or 69 percent, addressed fewer than 10 or less, an 
average of one per month, while only 5 percent reached more than 
18 a year, or an average of two per month. The average number 
of meetings addressed per superintendent for the year was only five. 
Speakers were procured for meetings by 61 percent of the superin- 
tendents replying, the average number of meetings thus assisted 
per superintendent being three. 

Among the other means of school and community development 
employed by superintendents, circular letters and newspapers 
rank first, being used in each case by 80 percent of those reporting. 
Field meets (70 percent) and general community conferences (41 
percent) come next, with children's clubs and projects (32 percent) 
and regular class work (34 percent) following. With this it is note- 
worthy that only 6 percent of all superintendents considered are 
publishing a monthly paper for teachers and patrons, and that but 
very few issue printed annual reports for the public. In connec- 
tion with this last statement about monthly publications and yearly 
reports, one should take into account the fact that the district 
superintendents have no clerical help, and that any expense for 
printing or reports must come out of their expense budget of 
upon which there are many demands. 

184 



The chief aims of district superintendents in the community 
work they undertake are declared to be, first, cooperation (men- 
tioned 76 times in 180 replies); second, better schools (44 men- 
tions), and third, neighborliness (25). To these are added the 
development of citizenship (20) and the desire to attack general 
community problems (11). Upon the whole, these will be recog- 
nized as commendable purposes. 

The handicaps most frequently met in attaining these ends are 
reported as community indifference (mentioned 139 times in a 
total of 180 replies); bad roads, and lack of cooperation and 
ability among teachers (99 mentions each); friction and jealousy 
between organizations (62) ; and lack of time for such work on the 
part of superintendents (19). Cooperation between district super- 
intendents and other county or social agents is affirmatively re- 
ported by 143 of the 180 individuals replying. In this cooperation 
the agencies figuring most prominently are farm and home bureaus 
(mentioned 86 times); the Red Cross (71 mentions); the grange 
(60); the church (45); and health organizations (31). 

General Conclusions 
From the data of this study it is evident that, when measured 
in terms of realizable ideals, the community relations of New York 
rural schools are far from satisfactory. With whole counties in 
New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, and several other states 
showing from 60 to 85 percent of their rural communities organ- 
ized for school support through parent-teacher associations, civic 
leagues, or school improvement associations, a 1.7 percent show- 
ing of New York rural districts as revealed here is lamentably low. 
So, too, is the educational and community leadership of the average 
district superintendent as compared with the activity of the most 
efficient and outstanding county superintendents of the country. 
For all this, in the opinion of the committee, there are three funda- 
mental causes: First, the overburdening of the office of the district 
superintendent, which, without provision for either clerical help or a 
differentiation of administrative and supervisory duties, is hope- 
lessly handicapped; second, the general neglect of this phase of 
educational administration by the State Department of Education, 

185 



with the accompanying lack of assistance in these matters to dis- 
trict superintendents; and third, the fact that the district superin- 
tendent has but little local responsibility and is not responsible to 
a natural social unit which thinks as a unit. 

The best that can be said on the community relations of rural 
schools in New York is that there has been but little tendency 
here toward exploiting the rural elementary school for adult and 
vocational ends. This in itself is highly commendable. But an 
alternate danger, almost equally serious, lies in developing a general 
inertia on the part of school forces which keeps them not only from 
infringing upon the territory of other agencies, but from fulfilling 
their own obligations. This fault New York seems to possess to a 
high degree. The rural school forces of the state, in other words, 
are conducting only a tithe of the legitimate community activities 
which they should foster and must undertake if the commonwealth 
is ever to come into its own educationally. 

Recommendations 
In the light of the findings given above the following provisional 
proposals on the community relations of rural schools are ten- 
tatively submitted: 

1. That, because school work in the main is limited to routine 
class-room activity, greater attention should be given to providing, 
as a part of school work, additional extra-curricular activities, 
such as entertainments, school fairs and exhibits, plays. 

2. That in every rural district of the state there be developed 
a live interest of adults for the advancement of education. This 
interest may either take the form of a separate organization for 
school betterment, as parent-teacher associations and school im- 
provement leagues, or be focused in the work of a special education 
committee under some organization not exclusively educational, 
as the grange or farm and home bureau. 

3. That rural and village high schools be especially urged to 
develop and emphasize the many possible forms of community 
relation and service consistent with their functions, including 
provision for adult education. 

4. That a reasonable amount of properly directed community 

186 



effort, in harmony with the principles of this study, be expected of 
every rural teacher, principal, or district superintendent in the 
state. 

5. That the curricula for the preparation of rural teachers, prin- 
cipals, and district superintendents provide suitable preparation 
for this phase of school work. The nature of this work is such that 
preparation for it cannot be accomplished by a few additions to a 
formal training course. To be efficient here, attention must be 
given to the problem throughout the course. 

6. In view of the larger responsibility of the district superin- 
tendent for the leadership of rural folk, it is advised that personal 
qualifications for such service, other than professional preparation, 
be taken into consideration in his selection. 

7. In order that the above activities may be more fully realized, 
provision should be made for this work — 

(a) In providing school buildings and equipment. 

(b) In the type of service rendered by the State Department 
of Education to the school forces of the state. 

8. Finally, the people of the state, being jointly responsible with 
the school people of the state, should take a greater interest in 
school conditions and be more vitally concerned in every form of 
school improvement. 



i87 



PREFATORY NOTE TO CHAPTERS XII AND XIII 

In the preceding chapters an effort has been made to put before 
the rural school patrons some idea of the conditions that obtain 
in their schools. It seemed to the committee that the facts that 
have been gathered show that in many respects a handicap is placed 
upon the child who, by the force of circumstances, is compelled to 
attend school in the open country. So marked is the disparity 
between his opportunity and that of the child who attends school 
in a city or village that it is well within the bounds of truth to 
say that the most important educational problem that New York 
faces is that of equalization of educational opportunity as between 
country and city. 

In connection with the data presented, some recommendations 
have been made that, in the judgment of the committee, will im- 
prove conditions. There remain, however, the two most impor- 
tant problems to be considered, viz., administration and super- 
vision of the schools and school support. These two aspects have 
been reserved for consideration until the reader had a general view 
of school conditions in the state, because they involve the main 
changes that are necessary if country school conditions are to be 
made right. 

CHAPTER XII 

ADMINISTRATION AND SUPERVISION 

EFFORTS looking toward the improvement of the system of 
rural education in New York state should be conducted with 
full recognition of the importance of an intelligent and en- 
thusiastic public opinion back of all attempts at legislation. New 
York had, in the enactment and speedy repeal of the township law 
four years ago, an impressive lesson on the futility of legislation, 

188 



unsupported by popular understanding and sympathy. From the 
day of its organization this committee has recognized the importance 
of this fact. It has also realized that it would not render the great- 
est measure of usefulness to the state merely by endeavoring to secure 
legislation, even though the measures proposed met with the ap- 
proval of rural people. The report must go further. It must 
command approval for certain broad principles of school adminis- 
tration and supervision. Furthermore, it must make clear the 
fact that these principles are worthy of general acceptance. 

To secure a consideration of the situation in the light of princi- 
ples is very difficult because of the conditions surrounding the 
passage and repeal of the township law. This whole transaction 
seems to have arrayed people for or against certain theories of 
organization, for and against the State Department of Education, 
for and against one another. So intense is the partizan antago- 
nism on the matter of township organization of schools that it is 
quite impossible to consider rural school conditions in the state 
without being drawn into the earlier controversy. 

Responsibility of the State for Education 
However, if progress is to be made in remedying the conditions 
that have been presented in the earlier pages of this report, those 
who are interested in rural education must be willing to lay aside 
old antagonisms and consider the situation in the light of certain 
fundamental principles. Society has come to the recognition of 
the fact that certain minimum standards of schooling must be 
established for its future citizens. Experience has shown that 
there are homes to which it is unwise to leave for final decision 
the question of whether or not children shall attend school. Nor 
can it be left to each community to decide below certain minimum 
standards what school facilities will be furnished. 

The state must, for its own protection and for the protection of 
its future citizens, recognize the absolute necessity of a good popular 
education. It can take no risk in insuring that every boy and girl 
is adequately prepared for future citizenship. The state, in the 
discharge of this responsibility, is sure to clash sooner or later with 
some one who does not care for schools. For example, there is a 

189 



family which is shiftless and neglects its children. The state steps 
in and even goes so far as to assume charge of the children. A 
community tolerates a tumble-down school building and the state 
steps in with its authority and condemns the building. 

Again, in the exercise of its powers the state must often give the 
community which it coerces the means necessary to support schools. 
Furthermore, the state, with its wider range of operations and 
greater resources, must often undertake to perform functions 
which are necessary to the maintenance of good schools, but which 
the local community cannot perform. For example, the district 
evidently cannot train teachers to supply its schools. So the 
state establishes normal schools and trains teachers for many 
schools. Again, the small community very often cannot afford to 
support a high school, so until some better plan can be set up, the 
state pays the tuition of the community's children in the high 
school of some neighboring community. 

Such examples ought to convince every one that the state as a 
whole must be recognized as a factor in the conduct of schools. 
Schools are not local institutions, especially in a democratic coun- 
try, where the safety of all public institutions depends on the 
intelligence of citizens. Not only is the state always concerned 
with the schools, but it is a general fact that the state is likely in 
most cases to have higher standards for schools than does the 
individual district. The state, taken as a whole, is less likely than 
is the small community to be tolerant of the parent who keeps his 
child out of school to help with the farm work. One hesitates to 
coerce one's neighbor. Compulsory education laws are, therefore, 
much better enforced by the state or county authorities than by 
local authorities. 

In like fashion the state can better maintain high standards with 
regard to the qualifications of teachers than can the small com- 
munity. There was a time, in the early days of American schools, 
when the local districts decided whom they would employ to teach 
in their schools, but that turned out to be a matter that could not 
be left to local judgment if the rights of the children and of the 
teachers were to be protected. The local authorities were in- 
fluenced by their own immediate relations to some candidate or 

190 



by the cheapness of a candidate. The state faces the matter in a 
less personal and therefore a less biased way, and the state appro- 
priates large sums to carry out its insistence that teachers shall 
have training and special qualifications for their positions. 

The state, with its insistence on higher standards, with its ap- 
propriations of money, with its broader views, can influence local 
districts in one of two ways: It can compel action or it can lead 
the local community to see the wisdom of adopting higher stan- 
dards. The method of state action in New York state has been in 
several notable instances that of compulsion. While compulsion 
has brought quick results, it has not always brought a favorable 
attitude on the part of the people of the state toward progress in 
school affairs. For example, there are now 208 district superin- 
tendents in the state, and every rural school district is in some 
supervisory territory. The people of the state, however, are not 
by any means universally favorable to the system. The state 
pays these superintendents; it issues its orders through them. 
They have the right by statute to condemn buildings and order 
repairs; they have also the right to reconstruct district boundaries. 
Evidence secured in the survey shows that many people are for 
these very reasons unfavorable to the superintendent and suspicious 
of him. 

Some people, in their desire for local autonomy, lose sight of the 
fact that experience has shown that it is desirable for the state to 
control such school responsibilities as have been discussed. Some 
of these functions have been so controlled because the state can 
do them more economically or more efficiently. Others have been 
given to state authorities because the people of the state found it 
necessary to do so in order that the state may provide for its future 
safety in an intelligent citizency. Measures designed to ac- 
complish these ends have been written into the statutes from time 
to time because the state has found, through experience, that the 
collective interests of the whole state and the collective judgments 
of the larger community are in general broader and safer than the 
interests and judgments of small local groups of citizens. The 
State Department of Education was set up by representatives of the 
local districts. There can be no evasion of the fact that whatever 

191 



is enacted in state legislation is done under the sanction of a repre- 
sentative government. 

Consolidation or Schools 

To be sure there are occasions when, through lack of information 
or through bias, those who represent the people or those who enforce 
state laws are for a time oppressive in their interpretations and 
unwise in their action. There are some cases where central author- 
ity has been unwisely used. The only step which can be safely 
recommended in such cases is a reversal of action previously taken. 
This should be accompanied by change of viewpoint on the part of 
those who have administrative responsibility. When this is done, 
all parties are certain to be relieved and the situation will improve. 
An instance of where such action appears desirable exists in the 
matter of redefining district boundaries. The law provides that 
the people of various districts may, under certain conditions, re- 
construct the district lines. The law also provides that the dis- 
trict superintendent may redefine districts without the consent 
of the people. In general, where such action has been taken, the 
motive has been to compel some weak district which had only a 
few children to consolidate with a neighboring strong district which 
had a larger group of children, so that in the end there should be a 
larger school of the type known as a consolidated school. 

The rural people of New York state are in a great many cases — 
one might say in the majority of cases — opposed to consolidation 
of schools and even to the redefining of district lines. To be sure, 
the farmer knows that the little school cannot carry his child very 
far on the road to knowledge; it certainly cannot give the child a 
high school education. He knows that a little school with small 
attendance is very expensive per pupil. He knows that the equip- 
ment is meager and the teacher usually less well qualified for his 
or her work than the teachers in the schools of the neighboring 
towns. But the farmer will resist to the bitter end any movement 
on the part of the district superintendent or of the state to set up 
a well-equipped, graded school through compulsory consolidation. 
The replies in the questionnaires sent to rural school patrons showed 
that they were in the majority of cases very much afraid of "forced 

192 



consolidation of schools." In most communities people are not in 
an attitude of mind to consider the question as applied to their com- 
munity on its merits. In view of this condition and the fact that 
this is a function over which the laymen should retain control it 
would appear wise to repeal that portion of the act which gives to 
district superintendents of schools the power to redefine district 
boundaries. 

Defects of the District System 

While it seems desirable to place a larger emphasis on local initia- 
tive in a considerable range of school problems, and especially in 
the matter of consolidation, it must be acknowledged that one of 
the greatest evils of the New York state rural school system is the 
small school district. The smallness of the districts leads to the 
most striking inequalities in taxation and to inefficiencies of ad- 
ministration so glaring that people who are willing to consider the 
question on its merits can be led to see the necessity of a change 
through a straightforward statement of the case. 

Before reviewing the criticisms of the present small district it is 
important that the minds of readers be freed from one possible 
source of misunderstanding. An increase in the size of a school 
district is not to be confused at all with the consolidation of schools. 
A large school district may have several schools. This is the case 
in every city in the state. The city is a unit of taxation and a 
unit of administration, but it does not limit its school operations 
to a single building. What the rural people of New York state 
object to ordinarily is having the pupils from several school build- 
ings sent to one building. Consolidation of schools has been dis- 
posed of, so far as this report is concerned, by the recommendation 
made in an earlier paragraph. Let consolidations come only at 
the option of the people, not under compulsion from the district 
superintendents or the State Department. When, on the other 
hand, this report states, as it must, that the small district is the 
bane of New York state education, and when it advocates, as it 
must, a reform in this matter, the argument is not for consolidation 
of schools but about a correction of difficulties in taxation and con- 
trol which grow out of the small size and consequent inefficiency 
of the governing unit. 

13 193 



The most striking evidence that the small unit is a source of gross 
injustice appears in the fact that again and again common school 
districts can be found which lie next to each other and have about 
the same number of pupils, but are widely different in the value of 
their assessable property. For example, a district having a railroad 
or a factory will have a high valuation, a neighboring district made 
up entirely of farming land will have a very low valuation. These 
conditions will always continue as long as districts are as small as 
they are now. There ought to be a large enough unit drawn on 
in each case so that the advantages of the tax derived from the 
factory or the railroad will be distributed to all the people who 
contribute even indirectly to the life of the community. 

The evils of the small district as now organized are not alone in 
matters of taxation. The present district has no adequate ma- 
chinery for the consideration of policies and for the adoption of 
progressive plans. The present district is governed by the school 
meeting and by the trustee. The survey secured as many reports 
as possible from school meetings held last May, and it has can- 
vassed, by means of question blanks and by observation, the 
activities of trustees. The school meeting is commonly attended by 
only a very small fraction of the tax-payers of the district. The 
only occasion when attendance is likely to be large is when there 
is a controversy on. In general, the meeting is not supplied with 
any report of what was accomplished the year before nor with any 
well-worked-out plans for the future. As for the trustee, he very 
often received the election because it was understood that he would 
keep the taxes down. Not infrequently he is a man who was not 
at the meeting. He does not desire the office; has often had no 
experience in such an office; and is now very sure that he will never 
accept it again. 

Example after example was found which goes to show that the 
school meeting and the school trustee are very often unsatisfactory 
agencies for the promotion of good schools. There are, of course, 
good trustees conducting good schools. Criticism is here made 
because, under the present system, it is possible and frequently 
happens that the organization is inefficient. It should be remem- 
bered that both the school meeting and the trustee are granted by 

194 



statute powers that are very far reaching. When these significant 
powers are used, as they sometimes are for the purpose of keeping 
down taxes, they constitute a serious danger which menaces the 
future of the boys and girls of New York state. 

Finally, the small district cannot cope with the growing demands 
for a better education of higher grade. The small district cannot 
have a high school. The farmers of New York state are going to 
demand for the children free access to education higher than that 
given in the grades. They have made their demands felt to the 
point where the state legislature has enacted laws paying the 
tuition of pupils out of the state treasury. There can be no doubt 
that the farmers will carry this insistence further. They will de- 
mand a voice in the conduct of these schools, and they will demand 
transportation which will make it easy for their children to go to 
the schools. All this means that the farmer will have to be part 
of a district large enough to support a high school. 

It cannot be too often or too emphatically asserted that all this 
does not mean that the farmer will have to give up the primary 
school near his home in order to secure high school privileges for 
his older children. A larger district containing a high school may 
contain primary schools. The larger district will provide larger 
facilities. How these facilities shall be distributed should be left 
to the people in that larger district. Reference of all matters of 
consolidation to the people we favor as a first step. The second 
step is the enlargement of the district. 

Reasons for a Larger Unit 

In advocating the erection of a new type of district which shall 
correct the evils arising from the small size of the present common 
school district, the committee realizes that it will have to meet a 
deep-seated devotion on the part of the people of the state to the 
existing districts. In the formation of the new unit it believes 
the boundaries of these should be left as they are except as they may 
be changed by a vote of the people. 

Earnest consideration has been given to all phases of the problem 
before proposing the new unit for local administration. In the 
discussion which follows sight should not be lost of the fact that in 

19s 



an important sense the small local district is now a part of the 
larger school unit of the state. In the training of teachers, com- 
pulsory attendance, state grants of money for maintenance, and 
other matters prescribed by law the unit of control is the state. 
The friction which now arises as a result of authority exercised by 
the state is in part due to the fact that there is a difference between 
localities in their needs. The state as the larger unit often does 
not deal wisely with local variations. State regulations tend to 
become mechanical and uniform. When a state rule is mechanical 
and applied without discrimination, it seldom improves the school. 
Indeed, it not infrequently inflicts a serious harm because it robs 
the local school authorities of that initiative which should keep 
them on the alert for improvements that shall make education con- 
tinually an improving process. This lack of flexibility is largely 
the result of the fact that there are many respects in which the 
small school district is not able to cope with the demands made by 
modern educational needs. To prevent neglect of the educational 
interests of the young people in rural communities it has been 
necessary for the State Department to assume functions that might 
better be handled by local authorities if an effective local organiza- 
tion were provided. 

Another cause that has contributed to the development of fric- 
tion is the fact that in many instances there has been a failure to 
make provision in legislation for a clear and wise distribution of 
responsibilities for the school. In the selection of teachers, text- 
books, teaching equipment, and in determining course of study the 
laymen are undertaking responsibilities which they must in gen- 
eral recognize that they cannot discharge properly. On the other 
hand, the professional people are primarily responsible for duties 
that they should be carrying out only on a mandate from laymen. 
Further occasion for friction exists in the fact that in instances 
there is not a clear definition of responsibility as between local and 
state school authorities. 

In making the foregoing criticisms of the situation sight has not 
been lost of the fact that they would be harmful rather than helpful 
if they were not accompanied by constructive recommendations. 
A very large part of the work of the experts employed by the com- 

196 



mittee in connection with this section of the survey has been, there- 
fore, to gather from every possible source suggestions with regard 
to possible improvements in the present scheme of local admin- 
istration. The experience of the State Department has been put 
freely at the disposal of the committee. It has been possible, 
through the committee's representatives, to secure conferences 
with a large majority of the district superintendents and with 
many trustees. The committee has canvassed the matters here 
under discussion very fully. Finally, the experience of other 
states has been drawn on for suggestions. 

In this general canvass consideration has been given to a number 
of proposals. Thus the county unit plan has been urged as de- 
sirable. The county is a political unit, and would be well suited 
in size and because of its existing political machinery; to take care 
of school taxes. It would equalize taxes more fully than could the 
township or any other small unit. 

On the other hand, it must be recognized that a county is too 
large in most cases for the administration and supervision of so 
intimate an institution as a school. The county is in no sense of 
the word a community. Its boundaries cut indifferently across 
hills and valleys. Its lines often run through a village or divide a 
district which is in local interests a closely united community. 
The county serves very well for political administration when 
interests are under consideration which are purely material and 
impersonal. Thus a county is a suitable unit for certain policing 
functions and for the distribution of state taxation, but county 
boundaries are in no way related to the growth of church centers 
and grange centers and lines of travel to the store or railroad sta- 
tion. The life of a community is determined in all these personal 
interests by the possibilities of easy transportation and communi- 
cation. 

After careful consideration the suggestion that the township 
be adopted as the unit of administration was also rejected. The 
township is no less arbitrary and impersonal in its boundaries than 
is the county. Its geometric lines show that it was laid out by 
rule of the surveyor, not by any demands of community organi- 
zation. 

197 



The Community Unit 

The school is so essentially a matter of community interest and 
support that it ought not to be forced to adopt for its government 
any artificial relations. The school district of the United States 
has been, throughout its history, the clearest expression of the 
community type of organization. Holding fast to this fact an 
effort has been made to develop a series of formulas which will 
give to New York a natural system growing directly out of its 
present common school district, but overcoming the defects which 
arise from the small size and inefficient organization of that district. 

The concrete details of such an organization which does not follow 
county lines nor township lines are as follows: 

It is recommended that the common school districts of the state 
and the district school meetings be retained. It is further recom- 
mended that the trustee elected by each district be the repre- 
sentative of that district on a community board of education. 
This community board is to be made up of a number of trustees 
who come together periodically to pass on school matters, including 
budget and tax-rates. 

The determination of the districts which shall be part of the 
territory of the community board of education thus constituted 
should be made along the following lines: All those districts 
shall be represented on the community board of education which 
are related by lines of transportation, trade, and social relations. 
School districts are always grouped around some town or railroad 
center. The roads lead into this center. Thither the people go 
because of their social and industrial relations. There are the store 
and the post-office. In this center of population is the natural 
location of the high school. At present the majority of school 
districts have no true connection with high schools, and many farm 
children in New York state are unable to get high school training 
under existing conditions. 

The effect of this situation is harmful not only to pupils but to 
the state itself. One of the most powerful influences which has 
operated in recent years to liberalize the high school is the influx 
of pupils from all kinds of homes. The attendance on high schools 
two decades ago was from a small group of select families which 

198 



enjoyed superior social and economic advantages. For these highly 
selected children a classic and artificially restricted curriculum was 
not seriously objectionable. In recent years the student body has 
increased rapidly — not so rapidly as it would have had country 
children been provided with transportation, but fast enough to 
make an impression on the schools. With new pupils of new types 
came the demand for courses in vocational and technical subjects. 
With these pupils came also a demand for more liberal content in 
English and science courses. A good influence will be imported 
into New York state rural high schools when all pupils can enter 
who have the interest and capacity for a higher education. 

The development of schools along the broad lines of an enriched 
curriculum has vitally affected both the elementary schools and 
high schools of the country. It has been found to be natural and 
advantageous to organize a division of the school intermediate 
between the elementary school and the high school. This inter- 
mediate school is commonly known as the junior high school. It 
is a thoroughly appropriate type of school for many small com- 
munities which cannot afford a four-year high school of the ordinary 
type. A junior high school in some centers would be the best 
possible institution in which to concentrate the older pupils from a 
number of common school districts. In such cases the younger 
pupils might remain in the schools nearer their homes. But all 
this desirable organization is lacking, first, because the officers of 
the State Department seem to have overlooked the need for any 
new intermediate schools, and, second, because New York state 
communities are not so organized that they can consider freely 
the best organization of their schools. Hard and fast boundaries 
encircling small districts keep pupils isolated and communities 
behind progressive communities in other states. An overdose of 
local isolation is thus proving to be a handicap to the best exercise 
of a genuine local initiative. 

A further argument for adoption of the community unit lies in 
the fact that the center of population contains the largest taxable 
values of the region. If there is a railroad or a telephone franchise 
or a mill, the center of population has it and derives support from 
it for the schools. The remoter local districts do not share in the 

199 



income from these property values, though the farmer in the 
remoter districts is all the time contributing to the support of the 
mill, provided the road runs from his house to the mill. In short, 
the center of trade and social life is the natural and proper center 
of community organization and of community support of such an 
institution as a school system. The children of the remoter coun- 
try districts have a right to schools supported by all the taxable 
property of the general community to which they belong, including 
high schools. 

An objection which instantly suggests itself to this plan is that 
the community board of education will in most cases be very large. 
The committee considered at length the question as to whether it 
would not be better to recommend a small community board 
elected at large. Such a board would be less likely to fall into 
bickerings about petty matters and would be more in accord with 
the best experience of city systems. The committee would recom- 
mend a board elected at large if it were dealing with the situation 
in the abstract. There is, however, so much feeling on the part 
of the farmers that any reduction of local control is unacceptable 
that the recommendation is advanced that a large community 
board be organized, with power to reduce its own number. 

Another serious problem which arises is that of the balance of 
power in such a board as between the village and the outlying 
rural districts. There is every evidence that the smaller outlying 
districts are, as a general rule, conducting at the present time 
poorer schools than are the villages. There is to some extent 
mutual fear. The farmers are afraid of the towns because they are 
afraid that joining with the towns may result in the disadvantage 
of a higher tax-rate as the price which they will have to pay for the 
advantage of better schools. The town people are afraid that a 
big community board of education on which representatives of 
remoter districts are in the majority will scrap their good school 
system in favor of a cheaper and inferior pattern of school. 

It has been suggested that this objection be met by giving to 
villages and the outlying districts an equal number of votes. To 
be concrete, it has been suggested that the board be limited to six 
votes — three to represent the village, three to represent the rural 



sections. Nothing could thus be done without the consent of both 
groups to some extent. 

These suggestions represent ends toward which the plan proposed 
will move rather than the safe beginnings. It seems safer to depart 
only a little at first from the present district system. The most 
obvious defects of the present districts are their isolation and their 
unequal tax-rates. Let these defects be remedied. Let people 
learn the advantages of joint action through actual association. 
Let new powers and new plans of representation grow as experience 
dictates. A practical consideration is the means by which the 
boundaries of the community units may be determined. The 
committee believes this will be most satisfactorily accomplished by 
local people. It recommends for this purpose the appointment by 
the County Board of Supervisors in each county of a temporary 
commission of five persons living under the rural school law. These 
county commissions should do their work under the general over- 
sight of a state commission of three persons, to consist of the State 
Commissioner of Education and two persons living under the rural 
education law, to be appointed by the Governor. 

An Intermediate Unit 
For purposes of carrying out effectively supervision and certain 
administrative functions it is necessary to have a district larger 
than the community unit. At present this need for an inter- 
mediate unit — one that stands between the state and the local 
district — is met by the supervisory district. Any consideration 
of the activities of the intermediate unit must begin with a clear 
recognition of the wholly inadequate character of the present 
supervisory district. Historically, this unit has always been 
backward. The people know that school organization must include 
a teacher and a local school trustee at one end and a State Depart- 
ment at the other. Why there should be supervision, why there 
should be an intermediate unit, is not so evident, and there has often 
been deep-seated objection to adding this, which seems to be an 
expensive and to many minds unnecessary element of school ma- 
chinery. The supervisory district of New York has hobbled lamely 
along and is to-day so pitifully weak and so much despised that the 



surveyors found a prevalent opinion in the state that the inter- 
mediate unit should be one of the chief centers, if not the chief 
item, of its reforming recommendations. 

Such recommendations as are to be made rest on the assumption 
that an intermediate unit is necessary, and that it should be made 
strong enough and independent enough to be administratively 
effective. This basal assumption is derived from such considera- 
tions as the following: 

The State Department is too remote from local communities 
to supervise their activities. New York has a very highly cen- 
tralized state department. It has accumulated, during its history, 
vast powers through statutes and more through influence, which is 
not explicitly provided for in the statutes. For example, in de- 
termining the courses of study which shall be taught throughout 
the state, especially in the high schools, the State Department 
wields an influence that is preponderant. The result is that the 
rural high schools in New York are generally holding to require- 
ments which are antiquated and absurd. Sometimes the influence 
is not only unprogressive, but arbitrary and disastrous to spirit of 
wholesome local initiative in developing particular line of teaching. 
For the last year and a half high schools have been terrorized by a 
handling of the requirements in biology which are utterly inde- 
fensible. 

The State Department ought not to dictate the curriculum for 
the whole state — it cannot undertake to do so without arriving at 
exactly the point which has been reached in the Regents examina- 
tion system, where the machinery has become so cumbersome that 
it is breaking down of its own weight and must either be simplified 
or enormously expanded. 

A strong, properly organized intermediate unit, with its roots in 
community life and its relations so adjusted that it can secure, 
whenever needed, the sympathetic cooperation of a central state 
department, on the one hand, and the enthusiastic acceptance of 
local boards, on the other, could and should deal with the problems 
of the curriculum with the broad view and the direct view of a 
regional supervision. It is absurd to leave the making of a cur- 
riculum, as does the present law, to laymen. It is equally absurd 



to allow a state department to take up, as it has, all powers in such 
a matter. 

Attaching to the curriculum and necessary to its proper ad- 
ministration are certain supervisory activities which will always 
require the cooperation of larger areas that can be covered by 
community boards of education. If a group of community boards 
can employ jointly a special supervisor of agriculture, for example, 
they can carry on work that no one board could by itself afford to 
initiate. The same kind of a statement applies to the employment 
of a school nurse. Such examples illustrate a whole series of func- 
tions which are below the state level in regional scope, but broader 
than the possibilities of a single community. 

Constructive leadership, such as should come from the State 
Department of Education, should be met by the organization of the 
people in a way which will make it possible for them to understand 
and use effectively what the State Department has to contribute 
to the improvement of the schools. This means that the people 
of the state must have a better intermediate unit of supervision 
and administration than that which now exists in the districts over 
which the district superintendents have charge. 

One of the greatest defects in the present organization of the 
supervisory districts is that the people are not included in them 
except through the board of directors, who elect the superintendent 
once in five years and then cease to act. This lack of popular sup- 
port of the superintendent is coupled with other unfortunate 
features. The superintendent has a few very unsavory duties, 
such as condemning buildings and redefining district boundaries, 
but he has otherwise very meager powers. He cannot remove an 
incompetent teacher, he cannot select text-books, he cannot de- 
termine the course of study. All he can do is to offer advice. 
The supervisory district is a weak organization. 

The superintendents of the state are doing in many districts 
very valuable service for the state. They are helping the teachers 
and are providing educational leadership. As in all professional 
groups, there are among the superintendents some who are in- 
effective and indifferent. Some of them lack preparation for school 
leadership and give no signs of professional study. Their com- 

203 



plaint is that they are overloaded with clerical work, that the 
State Department makes a great many calls for special reports and 
provides no clerical assistance. 

Distribution of Functions 

In addition to the principles of local initiative and central guid- 
ance which have been pointed out, there is one other principle 
which the committee wishes to call to the attention of rural school 
patrons. This is the principle that there must be a clear and 
equitable allocation of powers and duties. There are some powers 
which the local district has a right to retain and others which it 
should give up for the common good. There are some duties that 
a layman can perform and others that a professional officer alone 
has the knowledge and insight to perform. Our American history 
explains why the differentiation and allotment of functions have 
gone on slowly and with frequent blunders. Our schools were at 
first local institutions, conducted almost as intimately by the 
people as were their own families. The traditions of the American 
school are the traditions of a small, closely compacted community. 
It is hard for people to realize how rapidly the school has expanded. 
Few who are not trained in the details of modern education know 
how intricate and delicate are the problems of conducting classes 
and providing materials suitable for instruction. It is little wonder 
that the ordinary school trustee does not know what the superin- 
tendent does or why, or that the ordinary citizen does not under- 
stand why the school has passed beyond the possibilities of the 
simplest kind of informal control. 

The cure for the present situation is to unite lay and professional 
officers in constructive activities. Out of this association there 
will come a final adjustment. The trained school officer must not 
be asked to condemn schools and to redefine districts without the 
consent of the people. It is far better that matters be adjusted 
at the inception than at the moment of acute failure where con- 
demnation and coercion are the only possible methods. Lay 
boards and professional officers should sit down together. The 
professional officer should have the right and duty of recommenda- 
tion. The lay board should have the power to accept or reject. 

204 



New York state is suffering to-day from a lack of clear understand- 
ing of the proper relations between its professional and lay officers 
and between its different units. 

It is a matter of great importance that the right relations be 
established between the superintendents and the lay board. One 
aspect that should receive serious consideration is the method of 
his choice. The committee found, in the questionnaires that were 
returned by school patrons, a preponderance of opinion in favor of 
the election of the superintendent of this unit by a popular vote. 
The committee believes that it is much wiser to leave the selection 
of such a professional officer to the board of education of the inter- 
mediate unit. An investigation revealed the fact that this is the 
trend in other states. It further shows that in states where they are 
chosen by such boards rather than by a popular vote higher profes- 
sional standards obtain. It is very desirable that the rural people 
of the state put the position of administrative and supervisory officer 
of the intermediate unit on the highest possible professional plane. 
The lay board that controls policies will then represent the people. 

It should be noted that the plan here proposed cannot be carried 
out by the superposition on the community boards of a county 
plan. Such a neglect of the principles of community organization 
in favor of a return to the wholly artificial political organization 
would be disastrous to the spirit of the whole reorganization. The 
intermediate unit should be made up of a group of community 
districts. 

An Attitude of Leadership on the Part of the State 
From the intermediate unit of supervision we turn to a brief con- 
sideration of certain aspects of state organization. It is not the 
duty of this survey to deal with the organization of the State 
Department of Education except in so far as it touches the rural 
schools in its operation. 

Any one who has studied the conditions in the state is driven to 
the conclusion that the contacts of the State Department of Educa- 
tion with the rural schools have not been sufficiently intimate to 
be as productive as they should be. Evidence at hand seems to 
indicate that there are some mechanical and undesirable elements 

205 



in the Department of Education which prevent it from dealing in 
the most effective fashion with some of the rural school problems of 
the state. The offices of the assistant commissioners are now 
arranged in such a way as to draw artificial and harmful lines be- 
tween the high school and the elementary school and between high 
schools and higher institutions. Specialization which separates 
sharply between elementary and secondary schools reduces itself 
to an absurdity when applied to districts of fewer than 4500 
inhabitants. Other examples of remoteness and inadequacy of 
administration are not wanting. 

The examination system is becoming very cumbersome because 
it is too detailed in its dictations regarding the course of study. 
The absence of effective methods of training district superinten- 
dents for their work, which training should be provided by the 
State Department, results in many cases in weak supervision and 
administration in the field. This reacts unfavorably on the in- 
fluence of the State Department. 

There should be, we believe, a revision of the method of operation 
in the State Department. Vigorous constructive contributions to 
the work of school officers should become the policy instead of 
dictation and mere inspection. To this end it is suggested that 
reorganization of the State Department should go far enough at 
least to emphasize as a major duty and a distinct problem the 
constructive administration and supervision of rural schools. 

In pointing out thus frankly some defects in the present state 
organization there is danger that this survey will create in the 
minds of some readers the impression that the committee, like many 
a citizen, is disposed to load on the shoulders of the State Depart- 
ment of Education all the sins of a school generation. The fact 
is that no one can have a keener appreciation than has the com- 
mittee of the courage and forward-looking attitude of the depart- 
ment. In all matters of aggressive reform the leader in education 
in New York state has been the State Department. It embodies 
the best ideas of the school system. It has been bold to push these 
ideas and set in motion policies which have made them effective. 
Where there has been failure, the fault has been, in the vast ma- 
jority of cases, due to the system and to the inevitable limitations 

206 



of personal judgment. The State Department is at the center of 
the picture, and as such will have to accept the conspicuousness 
which naturally results from its position. 

It would appear that the relations of the State Department to 
the situation can be greatly improved by the adoption, throughout, 
of a spirit of leadership rather than dictation. There are numerous 
examples of sympathetic leadership which justify this judgment. 
For example, in the Division of Vocational Education, at the 
present time, the plan of dealing with courses of study is admirable 
and highly successful. The officers of the department call on 
localities to outline the type of work which seems to fit the needs 
of the locality. When local plans have thus been formulated, they 
are subjected to the Division for searching and sympathetic 
criticism and returned with suggestion for revision. A series of 
conferences follows which work out the plan finally adopted. Here 
is an example which illustrates admirably the way in which local 
autonomy can be preserved and central authority utilized to 
contribute improvement. 

Another illustration is to be found in the recent conferences 
organized by the department for the better training in supervisory 
technic of the district superintendents. Most of these superin- 
tendents are deficient in technic. No one recognized this more 
fully than they themselves. The State Department can do a great 
service in giving a good deal of attention to the training of superin- 
tendents who are in office. It has at its hand the cooperation of 
several state institutions and institutions within the state which 
can be utilized to great advantage for this purpose. In fact, the 
move had already been made at the State College of Agriculture 
before it was taken up by the department to provide, in a short 
series of conferences, for an introduction of the district superin- 
tendents to the modern methods of educational measurements. 

The State Department has recently organized a division of tests 
and measurements. Too much cannot be said in favor of such an 
innovation. Too much cannot be said in favor of an exercise of 
state authority as well as state training to raise the standards of 
the teaching force. There might very properly be a rapid elevation 
of the requirements imposed on district superintendents of con- 

207 



tinued study if they are to be reelected, and there might properly 
be an elimination of some of the teaching certificates which have 
been necessary perhaps during the period of scarcity of teachers 
through which New York and the country as a whole have passed 
in recent years. 

The recommendations which have been made throughout this 
report are aimed at the establishment of the principle of local 
initiative, guided by the broader leadership on the part of the 
intermediate and state units and a better distribution of responsi- 
bilities for the schools between the different units and the lay and 
professional interests. The people must be trained to be intelli- 
gently interested in their schools. They must be brought along 
or there will be no genuine improvement in the schools. 

Recommendations 

1. The committee recommends that the community be made the 
unit of local administration. In the formation of this new unit 
the present district boundaries should remain as they are unless 
changed by a vote of the districts. 

2. The board of education of community unit should be consti- 
tuted as follows: 

(a) Each common school district and each union free school 
district without an academic department to have one mem- 
ber. 

(b) A union free school district (or districts) with an academic 
department may determine the number of its representatives, 
not to exceed the number from the outlying districts in the 
unit. 

(c) In case of consolidation of districts after the community 
units are formed, the consolidated districts may retain the 
same number of members as there were in the districts previ- 
ous to consolidation if the districts desire. 

(d) This large board may delegate certain functions (see pro- 
posed distribution of functions) to a smaller group. 

(e) The community unit may adopt (by a majority vote, both of 
districts and of the people) one of the following organizations 
in lieu of the above: 

208 



I. A small board with equal number from country and 
union free school district or districts with academic 
departments. 
II. Small board elected at large. 

III. Actual traveling expenses may be allowed for atten- 
dance at meetings; to be determined by community 
board. Such expenses shall be allowed when a mem- 
ber goes to any meeting as the authorized representa- 
tive of the board. 

3. The district superintendent should be the means of connecting 
community and intermediate boards and have the supervision, and 
such other duties as are delegated to him by the community board, 
of the common school districts. After 1926 the superintendent 
should be the professional head of all the schools under the juris- 
diction of the community board. 

4. The compulsory consolidation law should be repealed. 

5. Each community unit should make provision for four years of 
high school instruction, either within or without its bounds, and for 
transportation or a suitable substitute wherever necessary except 
when exempted by the intermediate board because of impractica- 
bility. 

(a) The community board may pay tuition for pupils who must 
attend some high school outside the community unit in order 
to secure special courses not available in the community, 
and they should pay it in the unit with which arrangements 
have been made for regular academic instruction when a 
complete academic department is not maintained in the unit. 

6. Community boundaries should be determined by a commission 
appointed by the County Board of Supervisors from among those 
living under the rural education law. 

7. There should be a state commission, consisting of the Commis- 
sioner of Education and two members living under the rural educa- 
tion law, appointed by the Governor, to act as a board of appeal 
on boundary questions and to adjust problems of representation as 
between union free school districts and common school districts. 

8. Qualifications for voting at school elections should be same 
as at general elections in rural districts. 

14 209 



9. There should be a board of education for each intermediate 
unit composed of one member from each community district elected 
by the community board from its membership. When this gives 
a membership of less than three, the number should be determined 
by the State Commission on Boundaries. 

(a) Term of office, two years, half being elected each year. 

10. The district superintendent should be the professional officer 
of this board. 

(a) In general he is to recommend policies to the board (such as 
are within the province of the intermediate unit) and is to 
execute its decisions. 

(b) Qualifications. 

I. Old superintendents: Four years' experience as dis- 
trict superintendents and one-half year of professional 
training for rural school leadership. 
II. New superintendents: College graduate with three 
years of experience and one year of professional train- 
ing for rural school leadership. 

(c) Term of office, three years. 

11. The State Commission on Community Boundaries should 
determine the groupings of the community units into intermediate 
units, making provision for 208 intermediate units until 1926. After 
that date they should determine the number of intermediate units 
for the state. 

In order to develop the most effective schools, each unit should 
contribute something in the way of school control. The general 
principle is that no higher unit should do what a lesser unit can or 
will do satisfactorily. The committee is not prepared to recom- 
mend the exact division of functions in regard to any problem. 
However, a general division may be made in terms of the principle 
stated and this has been done. The details can be settled only after 
some experience with the new organization has given enough facts 
as a basis for conclusion. Where the letter "f" is given after a 
function of the community board, that function is to be performed 
by the full board, not by its delegated representatives. 



Proposed Distribution of Functions 



Present District 
Elect trustee (un- 
less small board 
is adopted) 
Pass upon aboli- 
tion of district 



Community Board 

Budget and tax (f) 

Selection and location of teachers 
(on nomination of superinten- 
dent or principal) (f) 

Power to close school for one year 

(f) 

Curriculum (contributions and adap- 
tations largely through teaching 
force) 

Selection and adoption of text- 
books (not in conflict with rules of 
intermediate board) 

Buildings, care of new (f) 

Purchase supplies 

Library (not in conflict with rules 
of intermediate board) 



Intermediate Board 

Select district super- 
intendent 

Levy taxes for ad- 
ministrative and 
supervisory activi- 
ties 

Redefine boundaries 
of community units 

Approve consolida- 
tion plans 

Select and adopt 
text-books. 

Curriculum (not in 
conflict with state) 

Library (not in con- 
flict with state) 



The community board is to perform most of the functions in 
school control. Only where the welfare of the schools demands 
that larger groups act together is this power curtailed. The inter- 
mediate board serves the general function of keeping school control 
nearer the people by enabling them to solve many problems that 
now must, because of our organization, go to the state. The dis- 
trict superintendent becomes primarily the representative of the 
communities, not of the state. However, there are many functions 
that should be left to the state: raising funds for equalization and 
stimulation; training and certificating teachers; establishing mini- 
mum standards; collecting facts as the basis for school improve- 
ment, etc. The intermediate board and the district superintendent 
will naturally be utilized by the state in carrying on its function. 

12. The committee believes that the magnitude of rural education 
problems in the state makes it very important that the State De- 
partment of Education be provided with as effective an organization 
as possible for handling them. To this end it suggests that some 
arrangement be made within the State Department of Education 
by which original jurisdiction over elementary and secondary 
education and the training of rural school teachers be placed in the 
hands of some person directly responsible to the Commissioner 
of Education. The committee is of the opinion that this end would 
be best attained by an Assistant Commissioner of Rural Education, 
but if the Board of Regents can devise a more effective method, it 
would be regarded as acceptable. 



CHAPTER XIII 
SCHOOL SUPPORT 

Costs 

HOW much do the common schools of the state cost? There 
are a number of ways in which the question may be an- 
swered, each of which has some advantage over the other. 
First, take the cost per school, meaning by this a group of children 
in charge of a teacher, and see how with this unit of measure the 
costs of common school districts in one section of the state com- 
pare with costs of schools in other portions of the state. 

The first thing that strikes our attention is the great differences 
in the amounts expended among schools in different counties. 
Examples of this are furnished by the studies that were made of 
costs, for the year 1920, in the common school districts in the first 
supervisory district in each of Delaware, Monroe, and Tompkins 
Counties. The median cost in Delaware was $723; in Tompkins, 
$785, and in Monroe, $991. A second fact of interest that was 
brought out in these studies is the great difference in costs within 
each supervisory district, whether its general trend of costs was 
high, low, or average. The extremes in cost for each county were 
as follows: Delaware — one school had a cost somewhere between 
$675-$699; while in another common school district the cost was 
between $1425-$1449; the extremes for Tompkins were one school 
with costs between $600-$624, and another with costs between 
$1100-$1124. Monroe's cheapest school was maintained at a cost 
between $775-$779, while there were three with costs of over $1500 
each. Throughout the entire state, neighboring districts differ 
greatly among themselves in the cost of schools. Even when no 
account is taken of the cost for repairs which brings up the costs of 
certain districts, it is frequently found that one school will cost 



from one and a half to two times as much as a neighboring school. 
When the costs are segregated for such items as instruction, sup- 
plies, janitor service, and other items, it is found that for each of 
these items there are pronounced differences in extent to which 
districts are spending their funds. 

Cost Based on Attendance. — Another way of studying costs 
of schools is to compare cost per pupil in attendance. The dif- 
ference between this method and the cost per school unit as repre- 
sented by the cost per teacher can be illustrated as follows: If a 
farmer who has cultivated a field of corn during the past year 
studies his costs, he may compare his cost per acre cultivated with 
the cost of the previous year. He would include his own labor, 
that of his hired men, the cost of his seed, of repairs to his ma- 
chinery, etc. Supposing that he found his cost per acre compared 
very favorably with the cost of his neighbors', should he then be 
satisfied with his study? It is readily seen that from a good busi- 
ness standpoint it is more important to find the cost per bushel of 
corn that came off his field compared with the cost of his neighbors' 
for each bushel off their fields, because his success in making money 
by farming depends more on the cost of each unit of product raised 
than upon each unit of land cultivated. So it is in every occupa- 
tion — the cost per unit of product is far more significant than the 
cost of the unit of space or department utilized. 

The nearest approach to a unit of product of the school which is 
practicable for our present purpose is the average daily attendance 
for the year. It gives us the cost of educating one pupil every day 
throughout the entire year, or, briefly, the cost of one year's school- 
ing for one pupil. Some day we may be able to express our product 
in terms of units of arithmetic, reading, character, etc., developed 
during a year, but we cannot do it now. The cost per pupil in 
average daily attendance for each district was determined for the 
three supervisory districts previously mentioned. As in the case 
of costs per school, very wide differences were found within each 
county. 

In Delaware County it cost 11 times as much in one district to 
get the same amount of product as in a neighboring district. Even 
greater differences than this are not unusual; in the second super- 

213 



visory district of Delaware County it cost 33 times as much in one 
district as in another. The difference in the general trend of prod- 
uct costs in the three counties is also apparent. The striking fact 
in this connection is that the counties are in the reverse order to 
what they were in cost per school. The median cost per pupil 
in average daily attendance for each county was: Delaware, $77; 
Tompkins, $74; and Monroe, $49. Delaware County put the 
least money into its enterprise and had the highest costs, while 
Monroe put in the most and had the lowest cost per unit of product. 
Such a situation as this would seem improbable to one not ac- 
quainted with rural schools. It plainly indicates that there is 
waste; the reasons for it and the remedies proposed will be dis- 
cussed in a later section. 

Cost of Schools in the Common School District Compared 
With Costs in the Union Free School Districts and Villages 
and Cities. — That the costs per teacher in each of these classes of 
districts are higher than those of the rural schools is known to 
everybody. The minimum salary law requires higher salaries. 
In the common school district the minimum salary is $20; in the 
union free, $20; cities and villages, $27.50-$37.50. These dif- 
ferences are alone sufficient to establish the point, since teachers' 
salaries make at least 60 percent of the total cost in cities and 80 
percent in rural communities. We should bear in mind then that 
from the standpoint of the cost per school unit — a group of pupils 
under a teacher — the rural schools as a group have the lowest costs. 

Let us now turn to the cost of the unit of product as represented 
in the cost per pupil in daily attendance. 

Table 33 gives us the material that will enable us to canvass 
the situation. The data for the common school districts involve 
all of such districts in 24 supervisory districts; the data for the 
union free school district involve all such districts in 24 districts, 
scattered in both cases over the entire state, while in the last two 
columns all the villages and cities are included. 

The most striking fact in the table is the wide spread in the costs 
of the rural schools. The next fact in importance is the small num- 
ber of rural districts in which the costs are less than those of the 
lowest cost villages and cities — only about four out of every 100 

214 



Table 33. — Total Amount Expended per Pupil in Common and Union Free 
School Districts and Cities and Villa ges Under Superintendents 





Year Ending July 31 


, 1920 




Total Amount 










Expended per 
Pupil 


Common 

School 

Districts 


Union Free 

School 

Districts 


Villages and 
Cities under 
Superinten- 
dent 


Total 


$0-4.99 










5-9.99 










10-14.99 










15-19.99 










20-24.99 


*6 






6 


25-29.99 


8 






8 


30-34.99 


29 






29 


35-39.99 


50 


1 


i 


52 


40-44.99 


69 


4 


1 


74 


45-49.99 


91 


8 


5 


104 


50-54.99 


90 


8 


21 


119 


55-59.99 


79 


13 


15 


107 


60-64.99 


84 


11 


27 


122 


65-69.99 


61 


9 


9 


79 


70-74.99 


60 


6 


11 


77 


75-79.99 


45 


9 


5 


59 


80-84.99 


38 


3 


3 


44 


85-89.99 


42 


2 


1 


45 


90-94.99 


33 


2 




37 


95-99.99 


31 


3 


2 


36 


100-104.99 


25 




1 


26 


105-109.99 


20 




1 


21 


110-114.99 


16 


i 




17 


115-119.99 


15 






15 


120-124.99 


14 






14 


125-129.99 


11. 






11 


130-134.99 


10 




1 


11 


135-139.99 


8 






8 


140-144.99 


6 






6 


145-149.99 


10 






10 


150-154.99 


6 






6 


155-159.99 


10 






10 


160-164.99 


3 






3 


165-169.99 


5 






5 


170-174.99 


1 






1 


175-179.99 


5 






5 


180-184.99 


3 






3 


185 and over 


22 


1 




23 


Total 


1008 


81 


104 


1193 


Medians 


64.9 


62.9 


61.6 


63.9 



2IS 



such districts. On the other hand, one out of every 100 rural 
schools costs more than the schools in the highest cost city. 

Using the medians as a single measure to represent these columns 
of figures, we find that the costs of the common school districts as a 
whole are $1.79 per pupil higher than in union free school districts, 
$2.24 higher than in villages, and $3.76 higher than in cities. And 
we should remember that in these other districts the terms of school 
are longer and that costs of high schools are included. If figures 
were available for elementary schools alone in these districts, the 
differences would be much greater — at least $6.00 more in each case. 
The cost of schools per child in the median rural school is $10 more 
than in the median city school, with all its superior advantages. 
Is this what the rural people want? Do they realize that in every 
fifth rural school the cost is over $100 per child? Again, may we 
ask, should the state continue to support schools with such high 
costs unless it can be shown that there is no other feasible way of 
providing education for the children attending them? 

A more detailed statement of costs is given in Table 34: 

Table 34. — Medians for Costs per Pupil in Dollars in Cities, Villages, 
Union Free Schools, and Common School Districts, Year Ending July 
31, 1920 









Other 










School 


Total 


Teachers' 


Expenses 
of In- 
struc- 


Wages 

of 
Janitors 


Cost of 


Cost of 
Main- 
tenance 


Auxiliary 


District 


Expenses 


Salaries 


Fuel 


Agencies 








tion 










Cities 


61.00 


38.42 


2.81 


3.66 


3.28 


2.16 


1.69 


Villages . . . 


62.50 


40.71 


2.37 


3.38 


3.41 


1.82 


1.43 


Union Free 


62.95 


46.73 


1.60 


3.31 


4.20 


1.72 


0.92 


Common . 


64.76 


50.94 


1.49 


1.56 


3.52 


0.85 


0.85 



The significant point in this table is the relatively high costs for 
teachers' salaries and the low costs for everything else. When one 
recalls the smaller enrolment in the rural schools, it is evident that 
such schools spend very little for teaching supplies, for repairs and 
replacement of furniture and equipment, for libraries, for health, 
and for transportation. The material elements that go to make up 
a school are much more limited than in the city schools. 

216 



Table 35. — Relationship of Cost per Pupil, Cost per Teacher, Average 
Daily Attendance. Delaware No. 1. Year Ending July 31, 1920 



District 


Total Cost 
per Teacher 


Cost 
per Pupil 


Average Daily 
Attendance 


Hancock No. 8 


$671 
648 

1044 
936 
693 
937 
543 
955 
917 
839 
891 
622 

1004 
566 
696 
553 
703 

1088 
780 
748 
615 
844 

1091 

1092 
924 
599 
798 
711 
743 
655 
669 

1469 

1112 
725 

1224 

1262 
601 
607 
629 
506 
654 
549 
774 

1157 
666 
520 
746 
641 
762 


$22.70 

34.25 

37.13 

39.55 

43.51 

44.62 

45.30 

45.47 

45.85 

46.61 

48.16 

51.83 

51.96 

56.60 

58.00 

61.44 

61.56 

64.00 

65.00 

68.00 

68.53 

70.33 

74.39 

84.00 

84.00 

85.57 

88.66 

88.77 

91.87 

93.57 

95.57 

97.93 

101.13 

103.64 

112.74 

114.72 

120.20 

121.40 

125.80 

128.50 

130.80 

137.25 

154.80 

165.28 

166.50 

173.33 

248.66 

641.00 

762.00 


30 


Colchester No. 15 

Hancock No. 18 

Colchester No. 2 


16 
28 
23 


No. 19 

No. 17 

No. 11 

No. 23 

No. 5 

Hancock No. 5 

No. 12 

No. 21 

" No. 16 


16 
21 
10 
21 
20 
18 
18 
12 
19 


Colchester No. 19 

No. 26 


10 

12 


Hancock No. 22 


9 


Colchester No. 14 

Hancock No. 3 

No. 24 

Colchester No. 24 

No. 8 


11 
17 
12 
11 
9 


Hancock No. 15 


12 


No. 9 

" No. 23 


12 
13 


No. 26 


11 


Colchester No. 7 


7 


Hancock No. 17 


9 


Colchester No. 27 


8 


No. 28 


8 


" No. 1 


7 


No. 20 


7 


Hancock No. 19 


15 


No. 1 


11 


Colchester No. 4 


7 


Hancock No. 14 


11 


No. 11 


5 


Colchester No. 18 


5 


No. 6 


5 


No. 30 


5 


Hancock No. 7 


4 


" No. 12 


5 


Colchester No. 13 


4 


Hancock No. 10 


5 


No. 6 


7 


Colchester No. 16 

No. 22 


4 
3 


Hancock No. 25 


3 


No. 2 


1 


" No. 27 


1 







217 



Economies That Can be Introduced. — In considering this question 
remember that, while in the study of the three supervisory districts 
in the counties mentioned, the costs per teacher averaged highest 
in Delaware, lowest in Monroe, with Tompkins between, when the 
comparison was based on the cost per unit of product (average 
daily attendance), Delaware and Monroe Counties were reversed. 

The most important influence in making Delaware County have 
high costs per unit of product, notwithstanding the low cost per 
teacher, is the small number of pupils in certain of its schools. 
Table 35 gives the facts which warrant this conclusion. 

A similar study, made by Dr. Wiley, of the State Department, 
of four towns in Washington County, reveals the same situation 
and reaches the same conclusions. 

The importance of this factor in high costs of schools throughout 
the entire state is established by the fact that of the 8600 one-room 
rural schools, 3611, or 42 percent, have in attendance 10 pupils or 
less. The number of schools having a daily attendance of 10 or 
less are shown in the following table (Dr. Wiley's Study) : 

Table 36. — Showing Number of Schools with Average Daily of 1 to 10 

Pupils 
Average Daily Attendance Number of Schools 

1 pupil 15 

2 pupils 52 

3 " 167 

4 " 259 

5 " 392 

6 " 430 

7 " 556 

8 " 535 

9 " 612 

10 " 593 

It is evident that, from the standpoint of cost, some rural schools 
are much better off than others. While cost is not the only 
factor to be considered in the running of a school, it must be said 
that it is something almost every tax-payer thinks about. The 
difficulty is that most tax-payers look at the question from the 
wrong end — how much the community puts in rather than how 
much it gets out for what it does put in. Surely twice as many 
educated boys and girls for the same amount of money expended is a 
very desirable end to secure. If a farmer had to pay tuition for 

218 



the education of his children and had an opportunity to send them 
to two schools equally good, one of which charged $75 per pupil 
and the other $37.50, he would take them to the latter school, even 
if it were two or three times as far from his home. It is just as 
logical that two small public schools situated not far apart should 
be combined and conducted for the cost of one, even if it does cause 
inconvenience through longer travel. Such a plan secures the 
highest justice to all. Quite a number of cases in which such com- 
binations should occur were found by the survey. 

But this still leaves us the one-room rural school. Other sections 
of the survey have shown the advantages of the combined school, 
in which each teacher has not more than two grades and in which 
there is opportunity for a more enriched curriculum. This type of 
school often requires transportation of pupils, the cost of which 
is sometimes, although not usually, as great as the salary of a 
teacher. Under such circumstances it is then a question of whether 
more shall not be secured for the same expenditure of money. 
Every good manager is interested in making his dollar purchase 
the most goods. Why not in the schools? The cost of such 
reorganized schools, including costs of transportation, will be pre- 
sented in a later section. 

While an insufficiently pupiled school is the chief reason for the 
high cost of education in the rural schools, poor business manage- 
ment has also had its influence. 

How Carefully Does the Common School District Spend 
Its Money? — While many rural school districts make the keeping 
down of the tax-rate the chief object of their administration, the 
measures taken to make an economical expenditure of the money 
spent are faulty. This is proved by the replies made to certain 
questions by 128 district superintendents and 944 school directors 
scattered throughout the entire state. Budgets are not prepared 
in 50 percent of the districts and in only one-half of these cases is 
the advice of the district superintendent obtained. Supplies are 
purchased as needed from local stores in 90 percent of the districts, 
and at regular retail prices in practically all districts, instead of 
purchases being made at one time and in quantities which would 
secure wholesale prices. As a result, supplies cost 20 percent more 

219 



than they should. Again, taxes are not collected promptly in three- 
fourths of the districts, and the moneys so received are, in but few 
cases, placed on deposit in banks at interest, — thus losing 2 or more 
percent on the amounts in deposit. It would seem as though the 
district school has been managed as a large family affair, and with 
all the looseness that usually accompanies such management. While 
arising from this form of management, there may at times be certain 
advantages and certain satisfactions to parents and land-owners, 
nevertheless it is inefficient, and the minor benefits, usually selfish 
and spurious in character, should be surrendered for the larger good 
which would be secured from expert participation, business-like pur- 
chases, and careful care of funds. These would be most certainly 
secured in the adoption of a larger administrative territorial unit. 
Summary. — 1. Costs per school unit (per teacher) in common 
school districts vary greatly in the same supervisory districts. 

2. The general trend of costs for school units in the various 
supervisory districts, as represented by the median, varies greatly 
in different portions of the state. 

3. Costs of schools in common school districts per unit of product 
(per pupil in average attendance) are frequently highest in those 
districts for which costs per school unit are lowest, and vice versa. 

4. Costs (per pupil) for elementary education alone are higher in 
common schools than costs in union free school districts, in the 
villages, and in the cities for elementary and high schools and voca- 
tional schools combined. 

5. The small enrolment in the common school districts is the most 
important factor in bringing about these results, while another 
factor is poor business management. 

The Tax Burden 
The amount of the tax-rate for schools depends upon two factors 
— the amount of money that the district desires or must spend in 
addition to that which comes from the state, and the value of its 
property taxable for school purposes. If two districts spend equal 
amounts obtained from local taxes for schools, and the one has but 
one-half the amount of taxable property that the other has, the tax- 
rate of the first district will be twice that of the second. In our 

220 



study of tax-rates we shall follow a method similar to that observed 
in the study of costs. 

At the outset we are met with a peculiar difficulty which must be 
circumvented, namely, the inequalities in the assessment of prop- 
erty. We do not need to concern ourselves in this connection with 
the inequalities in value among individual holders of property in 
the same districts, but rather the differences in the general trend of 
assessment rates as they are found among the various tax districts. 
It is important for us to know that, on the whole, in one town 
property in general is assessed at 50 percent of its true value, and 
that in another town it is assessed at approximately 75 percent of 
its true value. In each case, no doubt, the assessor has assessed 
several pieces of property below 75 and 50 percent respectively, 
and other pieces of property at higher percentages. It would be 
unusual to find a district in which there would not be extremes in 
both directions, depending upon the judgment of the assessors and 
the influences that have been brought to bear upon them. 

Nevertheless we can ascertain, by careful comparisons of the sale 
prices of property and of the assessed valuations of the same 
property, the average rate of assessments in the various towns of 
the state. This is the work that the Tax Commission of the state 
is constantly engaged in. It is an impartial body and follows a 
scientific method. Their results are available and can be readily 
utilized. We have made use of them in this study. 

The equalization rates for the various cities, villages, and towns 
in the state furnish the means by which the true valuation of the 
taxable property can be ascertained, that is, the value of the 
property, if it were assessed at 100 percent of its value, rather than 
at 75 or 50 percent. In New York state this is commonly called 
the equalized valuation, because these are the figures used by the 
State Tax Commission in equalizing the state tax among the dif- 
ferent counties so that each county shall bear its fair share. The 
equalization rates determined for the various towns have been 
worked up by the Tax Commission in order to assist in the deter- 
mination of the equalization rates in the counties. In this study 
these true valuations will be called the equalized valuations, in 
order to conform with popular usage. 



Table 37. — Equalized Tax-Rate for the First Supervisory Districts of 
Delaware, Monroe, and Tompkins Counties. Common Schools, Year 
Ending July 31, 1920 



Equalized 

Tax-Rate, 

Mills 


Delaware No. 1 
No. 


Monroe No. 1 
No. 


Tompkins No. 1 
No. 


Total 
No. 


0- 0.99 




2 




2 


1-1.99 


2 


3 




5 


2- 2.99 




11 


"i 


12 


3- 3.99 


"l 


13 


3 


18 


4- 4.99 


6 


3 


4 


13 


5- 5.99 


9 


5 


5 


19 


6- 6.99 


3 


2 


6 


11 


7- 7.99 


5 






5 


10 


8- 8.99 


2 






4 


6 


9- 9.99 


6 






2 


8 


10-10.99 


5 








5 


11-11.99 


4 






"l 


6 


12-12.99 


2 








2 


13-13.99 


1 






"i 


2 


14-14.99 


1 








1 


15-15.99 












16-16.99 


i 








i 


17-17.99 


1 






3 


4 


18-18.99 












19-19.99 








i 


i 


20-20.99 








1 


i 


21-21.99 












22-22.99 














23-23.99 














24-24.99 


1 










i 


25-25.99 














26-26.99 














27-27.99 














28-28.99 














29-29.99 














30-30.99 


i 










i 


31-31.99 














32-32.99 


i 










i 


33-33.99 


l 










l 


Total 


54 


39 


38 


131 


Medians. . 


8.00 


3.26 


7.00 


5.81 



The equalization rates given by the Tax Commission also enable 
us to ascertain the true tax-rate in any school district by multi- 
plying the actual rate by the rate of equalization, that is, if the rate 
as assessed is 10 mills and the rate of equalization is 80 mills, the 
true tax-rate is 8 mills. In this study this true tax-rate will be 



called the equalized tax-rate. In Table 37 are given the equalized 
tax-rates for the first supervisory districts of Delaware, Monroe, 
and Tompkins Counties. 

The same marked variations in tax-rates within each supervisory 
district are apparent here as were found in the previous section in 
regard to cost per teacher and also cost per pupil. Monroe County 
is lowest, Tompkins is in the middle, and Delaware is highest. 
The variation is greatest in Delaware County and least in Monroe 
County. These two supervisory districts are typical of two ex- 
tremes of variation, as will be seen from the following table. In 
Delaware County No. 1, it is observed that the highest tax-rate is 
twenty times as much as the lowest; while in Monroe No. 1, the 
highest tax-rate is six times as much as the lowest. 

Percent 

of 
schools 



90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 _ 

l' ' ■ ■ - ' ' ' 

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 

Tax-rate — Mills 

Diagram 19. — Equalized tax-rate for the first supervisory districts of Dela- 
ware, Monroe, and Tompkins Counties. Tax-rate equal to or greater than 
amounts shown 

223 













1 

Delaware 

Monroe 


\ \ 










- — T 


ompkins 


\ 
\ 














1 

1 














1 

1 


• \ 
» \ 
t \ 












1 

1 


1 ^y 
1 \ 












1 

1 


% \ 

X 












\ 


% 


\ 










\ 


\ 


X-. 


^^ % 










\ 




\ 









Looking at the general trend of the tax-rates in these three coun- 
ties, it has been noticed that on the whole tax-rates are lowest in 
Monroe and highest in Delaware, and that in Tompkins they lie 
between the two, although tending to correspond more closely with 
Delaware than with Monroe, and the median tax-rates for these 
supervisory districts are 3.26 for Monroe, 7.00 for Tompkins, and 
8.00 for Delaware. 

It is seen that the property-owners in Delaware County, Super- 
visory District No. 1, bear, on the whole, a tax burden two and 
one-half times as great as the property-holders of Monroe County. 
It was found in the discussion of costs that this supervisory 
district in Delaware County spent a less amount of money upon 
each of its school units than did either Tompkins or Monroe, while 
Monroe County spent the most of the three. In other words, 
Delaware County, with the highest tax-rates, spent the least 
amounts, and Monroe County, with the lowest tax-rate, raised 
the largest amounts. 



Counties 



Delaware 



Equalized Tax-rate — Mills 



Monroe 3.26 

Tompkins 7.00 




Valuation per Teacher 



Delaware 60,833 



Monroe 



295,000 



Tompkins 



68,750 



Diagram 20. — Median equalized tax-rate and median equalized valuation 
per teacher for the first supervisory districts of Delaware, Monroe, and Tomp- 
kins Counties for the year ending July 31, 1920 

It will also be recalled from the previous discussion that the costs 
per pupil were highest in Delaware County and lowest in Monroe 
County. In other words, Delaware County, which is compelled 
to exert itself the most, can with all its exertion raise the least 

224 



amount, and then, in spending that least amount, is compelled to 
pay the largest amount for the product it receives as compared 
with the other two counties. It is a case of the district which 
has little paying much for what it gets, while the district which 
has much, pays little for what it gets. Summarizing it all, Dela- 
ware County, with a tax-rate of 8 mills, spends $725 on each school 
and pays $77 for the education of each of its pupils, while Monroe 
County, with a tax-rate of 3J4 mills, spends $987.50 for each of 
its schools and pays $149 for the education of each of its pupils. 
The corresponding figures for Tompkins County are $787.50 and 
$74, respectively. 

These three supervisory districts are typical of common school 
districts generally throughout the state. The median equalized 
tax-rate for 1070 districts and 24 supervisory districts is 5.44 mills 
for common school districts; the median for 79 union free school 
districts scattered throughout 24 supervisory districts is 8.94; for 
59 cities scattered throughout the state, 8.29 mills; for 45 villages 
scattered throughout the state the median tax-rate is 7.86 mills. 
The 59 cities and 45 villages include practically all the villages and 
cities of the state. 

When we compare the various classes of school districts with 
regard to their tax-rates we find that the tax-rates of common 
school districts, taken as a whole, are lower than the tax-rates of 
any other class of districts. Aside from these common school dis- 
tricts, we find that the more dense the population, the lower the tax- 
rates. However, it is important to note that although the median 
tax-rates of the common school districts is the lowest of all, the high- 
est tax-rates of individual districts are found likewise in the common 
school districts scattered through the state. There are common 
school districts which bear excessive burdens of taxation. There are 
probably over 300 common school districts which have higher tax- 
rates than the highest taxed city; on the other hand, there are over 
500 districts which have lower tax-rates than the lowest cities. 

Thus it is seen that two very common beliefs regarding tax-rates 

in rural schools are untrue. First, tax-rates in common school 

districts are neither low nor high as a class. Plenty of examples 

are found at both extremes. Second, they cost both less and more. 

is 225 



Hence in common school districts the burdens, as well as the costs, 
are both more and less than in the cities according to the circum- 
stances in the particular districts. 

Are these figures to be taken at their face value? Are we to con- 
clude that, because the farmers in the common school districts 
have more limited tax-rates imposed upon them as a class than the 
dwellers in cities as a class they are less heavily burdened? There 
are certain conditions which indicate the contrary. Practically 
all the wealth of the farmer is taxed by the taxes on general prop- 
erty, while much of the wealth of the city dweller, by means of 
which he earns his livelihood, is not reached by such a tax. It is 
altogether likely that if we could formulate a method by which to 
compare the true ability of the citizens in these two classes of com- 
munities to pay taxes, that would find the farmer at a disadvantage 
as compared with the city man, which seems to be the case when 
we consider general property tax alone. Unfortunately, no such 
method of determining this question has been generally accepted. 
The receipts from the personal income tax in the state of New York 
go to indicate, however, that the city dweller makes much more 
money in proportion to his real estate holdings than does the farmer. 
These facts are of weight in the consideration of distribution of 
state school funds. 

Summary. — It was noted in considering school costs that the 
common school districts in which the cost for schools was highest per 
unit of product were those in which there was the smallest average 
daily attendance. It is equally important to ascertain the relation- 
ship between the true tax-rates and the average daily attendance. 
A study of this phase for the counties of Delaware, Tompkins, and 
Monroe showed plainly that for the year 1920 the districts having 
the highest rates of taxation have the lowest attendance. The 
median equalized tax-rates for the schools of varying average daily 
attendance were as follows: 

Average Daily 
Attendance ■ Tax-Rate 

1-5 7.0 

6-10 5.9 

11-15 5.4 

16-20 4.2 

21-25 3.8 

226 



30 percent 



27 percent 




16-20 



21-25 



Diagram 21. — Percent of schools by average daily attendance for Tompkins, 
Monroe, and Delaware Counties 



Property Valuations 

It was said at the beginning of the last section that the tax 
burden, as represented in the state, is dependent upon two factors 
when state aid does not enter into consideration: namely, costs 
of schools and the valuation of the property taxable for school 
purposes. We have analyzed in both the tax-rates and the costs — 
it now remains for us to give some attention to the property 
valuations. 

In New York local support of schools comes from a tax upon 
general property, but the amount of personal property reported to 

227 



the assessors is so small as to be almost negligible. Practically, 
therefore, school support comes from tax on real estate alone. In 
41 towns situated in 24 supervisory districts the percent that the 
assessed value of personal property is of the assessed value of 
real estate in 1919 was 0.01— the range was from 0.0002 to 0.08 
percent. 

In considering valuations we shall, for reasons previously stated, 
use the equalized valuations so as to remove the differences caused 
by the varying rate of assessment. But there is still another varying 
factor which must be eliminated before comparison can properly 
be made, namely, that of the varying size of school systems. We 
have many districts in the state that have but a single school 
unit. Certain cities, on the other hand, have several thousand 
such units. The number of teachers in the various school districts 
is taken as the best measure of the size of the system. Since costs 
of schools vary more closely as to the number of teachers than with 
any other factor, we have another reason for accepting this unit for 
this purpose. All valuations given in this represent the equalized 
valuations of the districts divided by the number of teachers in 
that district. Thus the varying factor of the size of the districts is 
eliminated and all are reduced to a basis upon which their relative 
ability to support schools can freely be judged. 

The number of common school districts in each of the same 
supervisory districts that have been used for comparison thus far, 
having true valuations of varying amounts, is given in Table 38. 

The same wide spread in each of the supervisory districts, and the 
same differences in general trend of valuations as were apparent 
both in our study of costs and of tax-rates, are plainly seen. It 
will be noted that in Delaware County there is one district that 
has an equalized valuation per teacher approximately 34 times as 
great as four others. In Tompkins County there are three dis- 
tricts whose true valuations are about one-twelfth that of the wealth- 
iest districts. Even greater differences than these have been found 
in other supervisory districts. In Erie County there is one district 
which has a valuation over 60 times as much as any other district. 
In Clinton County the highest valuation of one district is over 70 
times that of the lowest. In the general trend of valuations Dela- 

228 



Table 38. — Equalized Valuation per Teacher for the First Supervisory 
Districts of Delaware, Monroe, and Tompkins Counties. Year 
Ending July 31, 1920 (Common Schools) 



Equalized Valuation 


Delaware 


Monroe 


Tompkins 


Total 


per Teacher 


No. 1 


No 


. 1 


No. 1 




$0,000- $9,999 












10,000- 19,999 


4 








4 


20,000- 29,999 








3 


3 


30,000- 39,999 


8 






2 


10 


40,000- 49,999 


9 






2 


11 


50,000- 59,999 


4 






6 


10 


60,000- 69,999 


6 






4 


10 


70,000- 79,999 


4 






3 


7 


80,000- 89,999 


1 






1 


2 


90,000- 99,999 


1 






2 


3 


100,000-109,999 


4 


1 


2 


7 


110,000-119,999 




1 


2 


3 


120,000-129,999 


"l 




1 


3 


130,000-139,999 


1 






1 


140,000-149,999 


3 




1 


4 


150,000-159,999 


1 








1 


160,000-169,999 


1 


1 






2 


170,000-179,999 




1 




3 


4 


180,000-189,999 


1 


1 






2 


190,000-199,999 






2 






2 


200,000-209,999 






2 






2 


210,000-219,999 






3 






3 


220,000-229,999 














230,000-239,999 














240,000-249,999 






2 






2 


250,000-259,999 






3 




1 


4 


260,000-269,999 






1 






1 


270,000-279,999 














280,000-289,999 






i 






1 


290,000-299,999 






l 






1 


300,000-309,999 














310,000-319,999 














320,000-329,999 






l 






1 


330,000-339,999 






2 






2 


340,000-349,999 




i 


1 






2 


350,000-359,999 














360,000-369,999 






3 






3 


370,000-379,999 






1 






1 


380,000-389,999 














390,000-399,999 














400,000-499,999 






3 






3 


500,000-599,999 






3 






3 


600,000-699,999 






2 






2 


700,000-799,999 














800,000-899,999 






i 






1 


Over 899,999 






2 






2 


Total 


51 


39 


33 


123 


Medians 


60,833 


295,000 


68,750 


102,145 



229 



ware and Monroe Counties are again situated at the extremes, 
with Tompkins in the middle. The low valuations of Delaware 
County are, of course, closely associated with the high tax-rates, 
as are the high valuations of Monroe associated with the low tax- 
rates. It will be recalled that in Delaware County the costs per 
teacher were low, and that in Monroe the costs per teacher high. 
These facts appear to reduce the tax-rates in Delaware and increase 
the tax-rates in Monroe County. But the difference in the wealth 
of these counties is so great that the operation of this factor is ob- 
scured. Monroe County is so rich it can afford to have the very 
best teachers and still have a lower tax burden than Delaware 
County. Thus we see in what an advantageous position it is as 
compared with Delaware, for Monroe County has so many pupils 
in each of its schools that, notwithstanding its high costs per 
teacher, it has lower costs per unit of product than has Delaware 
County with its low costs per teacher. 

The contrast between the supervisory districts in these two 
counties is typical of many that may be found among the rural 
schools of the state of New York. There are certain sections of 
rural New York that have high valuations, low tax-rates, high 
teacher costs, and low pupil costs; while there are others, as unfor- 
tunate as these are fortunate, that have low valuations, high tax- 
rates, low teacher costs, high pupil costs. 

It is important that before we leave this subject we again inquire 
into the relationship between attendance in the various schools 
and the topic under consideration. In order to do this the school 
districts have first been classified as to equalized valuations per 
teacher. The median average daily attendance for each of the 
medians of equalized valuations was then ascertained. This 
showed that the districts with the lowest valuation had the lowest ' 
average daily attendance. The following is a summary of the 
computation: 

Median Average 
Equalized Valuation Daily Attendance 

$49,400 1- 5 

78,700 6-10 

112,500 11-15 

162,700 16-20 

236,000. . 21-25 

230 



It will be seen from this table that it is the districts with low 
valuations that have the lowest average daily attendance. 

Average Median Equalized Valuation per Teacher 

Daily Thousands of Dollars 

Attendance 
1- 5 



6-10 

11-15 110 

16-20 160 

21-25 230 




Diagram 22. — Relationship between average daily attendance per teacher 
and equalized valuations per teacher in common school districts in Delaware, 
Monroe, and Tompkins, for the year ending July 31, 1920 

It remains to make comparison between the equalized valuation 
per teacher in common school districts and in the other classes 
of districts — the union free, the villages under superintendents, 
and the cities. For this comparison 1012 common school dis- 
tricts in various parts of the state were used. Table 39 gives full 
information upon this point. 

This table shows the same relationship of common school districts 
to the others as was found in similar tables for cost per pupil and 
equalized tax-rates. On the whole, cities have the highest valua- 
tions, villages next, union free districts next, and common school 
districts least. Nevertheless, there are certain common school 
districts that have higher valuations per teacher than the highest 
union free school district, and as high as any city or village. Like- 
wise certain others have lower valuations than any city or union 
free school district. 1 

1 In regard to the reliability of the data for common school districts, it should 
be said that the equalized valuations of the districts in which were situated the 
one-teacher schools scored by Dr. Butterworth in his study of school buildings, 
the median value was $92,000, while the median value of two-teacher schools 
was $270,000, and of the two-teacher and one-teacher combined, approximately 
$96,000. It is, therefore, probable that the equalized valuation per teacher of 
the common school districts is not far from $100,000. 

231 



Table 39. — Equalized Valuation per Teacher for Common School and 
Union Free School Districts and Cities and Villages Under Superin- 
tendents. Year Ending July 31, 1920 



Equalized 


Common 


Union Free 


Cities and 
Villages 
Under Super- 
intendents 




Valuation 
per Teacher 


School 
District 


School 
District 


Total 


$0,000- $9,999 


2 








2 


10,000- 19,999 


9 








9 


20,000- 29,999 


24 








24 


30,000- 39,999 


50 


i 






51 


40,000- 49,999 


67 


1 






68 


50,000- 59,999 


68 


2 






70 


60,000- 69,999 


64 


2 






66 


70,000- 79,999 


78 


4 






82 


80,000- 89,999 


51 


12 






63 


90,000- 99,999 


47 


9 


1 


57 


100,000-109,999 


57 


11 


3 


71 


110,000-119,999 


38 


3 


5 


46 


120,000-129,999 


44 


7 


5 


56 


130,000-139,999 


34 


7 


5 


46 


140,000-149,999 


38 


1 


5 


44 


150,000-159,999 


24 


2 


13 


39 


160,000-169,999 


29 


2 


4 


35 


170,000-179,999 


32 


1 


9 


42 


180,000-189,999 


16 


1 


7 


24 


190,000-199,999 


11 


3 


2 


16 


200,000-209,999 


19 


1 


5 


25 


210,000-219,999 


9 




1 


10 


220,000-229,999 


11 


i 


5 


17 


230,000-239,999 


18 


2 


3 


23 


240,000-249,999 


16 


1 


4 


21 


250,000-259,999 


16 




4 


20 


260,000-269,999 


10 




3 


13 


270,000-279,999 


7 


i 


2 


10 


280,000-289,999 


9 




1 


10 


290,000-299,999 


9 


i 


2 


12 


300,000-309,999 


5 






5 


310,000-319,999 


5 






5 


320,000-329,999 


8 


i 


5 


14 


330,000-339,999 


9 




1 


10 


340,000-349,999 


8 




1 


9 


350,000-359,999 


1 


"i 




3 


360,000-369,999 


8 






8 


370,000-379,999 


3 






3 


380,000-389,999 


2 




"l 


4 


390,000-399,999 


3 




1 


4 


400,000-499,999 


22 




2 


24 


500,000-599,999 


10 






10 


600,000-699,999 


9 






9 


700,000-799,999 


3 




i 


4 


800,000-899,999 


4 




1 


5 


Over 899,999 


5 




1 


6 


Total 


1012 


79 


104 


1195 


Medians 


108,070 


107,727 


182,857 


117,500 



232 



Percent 
10, 



Common School District 



III 



J 




llllllll 



llllnalBI ■ 



T|0< 



Percent 
20 



15 



10 



i"«tlO*ON00^O^fNf / )^ ,, ^Or*.00^O'HNr0Tj'tOONC0aO^tNf*)'<*iO*0r^00aO 



Union Free School District 













Jill 


1 lllllll ill 1 1 1 1 



OO^O^ ©v ©\ ©* ^ ^ ©\ O* ^0^0>Ov^(^0*0\Ov ©*OvO*^©v©»©*©> ©\©*0^©\©*^©*Ov O* ^ ^ Ot 0< Q 

grtts^fifl'ON(oo'0'<(Nm'*invOMioo>0'"!Nn^ioot»ooovO-N^') , m , o>«ooay 



Percent 
15 



Cities and Villages Under Superintendents 



10 




5 




ll 


l.JJftfaL 


■■ !• 



•3©©© o 
Valuation 



©A©© 



I I I 1 I I I III I I I I II II II I I I I 1 I I I I I I . 

_ OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO fc 



-thousands of dollars 



Diagram 23. — Percent of schools by equalized valuation per teacher for com- 
mon school districts and union free school districts and cities and villages under 
superintendents, for the year ending July 31, 1920 

233 



The reasons for these differences per teacher in true valuations 
of property taxable for school purposes, while there are many and 
they are well known, need still to be mentioned. Take, first, those 
differences within the same town. The districts located in the 
valleys, where the soil is rich, have higher valuations than those on 
the hills, where the soil is of poor quality. Those districts that are 
farther removed from cities or villages are apt to have lower valua- 
tions than those that are near such centers. Aside from fertility 
of soil, geographic location, and size of districts, there is still another 
feature which is probably more important than these. Those dis- 
tricts through which railroads, electric railways, telephone and 
telegraph lines, gas-mains, water mains, and pipe lines have been 
developed, have a source of taxation that is not strictly connected 
with agriculture. Districts that are not touched by any of these 
transportation or public utility conveyances get no support from 
them whatsoever. We have many examples in which valuation 
of railway and special franchise property is equal to or greater than 
valuation of all other property in the district. Such districts have 
their tax-rates reduced by half or more than what they would if 
these companies had happened to develop some other route. 

A Larger Local Tax Unit. — This striking inequality in wealth 
in school districts in the same community suggests a larger local 
tax unit for the support of schools in order to equalize to a degree 
the tax burden. Public money for expenditures made through 
the towns is now raised by a tax equally distributed over entire 
towns, and thus the benefit of the tax for railways, etc., is extended 
beyond the immediate territory through which they happen to 
pass. Since this larger unit works successfully in civil affairs, 
there can be no objection raised to its use on the ground of 
impracticability for the support of the schools. Such a tax unit 
should be made up of territory which will best promote the 
efficiency of schools, rather than to accept a unit organized with 
other considerations in mind. 

The Effect of a Larger Tax Unit Upon Tax-Rates. — The 
extent to which the establishment of larger local units, such as the 
town or the community district, equalizes tax-rates and valuations 
is a very important consideration, both from the standpoint of the 

234 



people paying the taxes and from the standpoint of state aid. The 
property-holders of certain districts would have to pay a higher rate 
of tax and others would have to pay a lower rate. The town 
or the community district tax-rate would be an average tax. 
Generally speaking, the wealthier districts would have to pay a 
higher tax and the poorer districts a lower tax. Thus there would 
be equalization of taxes between the districts in the various units. 
But there would still remain great differences in tax-rates among the 
various units, as is shown in Table 40. 



Table 40. — Equalized Tax-Rate and Equalized Valuation per Teacher 
in the Following Supervisory Districts: Delaware No. 1, Monroe 
No. 1, Tompkins No. 1. Year Ending July 31, 1920 



Deposit. . . 
Masonville . 
Sidney. . . . 
Tompkins. . 
Brighton. . . 
Henrietta. . 
Irondequoit 
Penfield. .. 
Webster. . . 
Enfield .... 
Newfield . . . 
Ulysses. . . . 



Tax- Rate 



Dela- 
ware 
No. 1 



8.35 
11.50 
14.72 
12.28 



Monroe 
No. 1 



2.22 
3.05 
4.45 
3.92 
3.39 



Tomp- 
kins 
No. 1 



6.70 

11.34 

5.98 



Equalization Valuation 



Dela- 
ware 
No. 1 



$81,525 
52,253 

135,030 
61,092 



Monroe 
No. 1 



$763,898 
310,390 
375,650 
224,099 
316,658 



Tomp- 
kins 
No. 1 



$75,985 

53,585 

177,215 



This table gives the equalized tax-rates as they would have been 
in the year 1919 had the town been the taxing unit, and had each 
town maintained the same schools at the same expense as the dis- 
tricts maintained them in the year 1919-20. 

Tax-rates in Monroe County are low, while those in Tompkins 
and Delaware Counties are high. These differences would, of 
course, prevail among all the towns in the state, and what has been 
said in previous sections regarding the differences in tax burden 

235 



among school districts applies to the situation as it would exist in 
the towns, although, to be sure, the extreme differences would be 
eliminated under a town taxing unit. 

The effect upon valuations per teacher of the establishment of a 
larger taxing unit, such as the town, is similar to the effect upon the 
tax-rates. The equalized valuation per teacher in the town is 
practically the average of the equalized valuation of the various 
districts, in which each district is weighted according to the number 
of teachers, but, as is revealed in Table 40, large differences in the 
amount of wealth behind each teacher in the various towns still 
remain in spite of the fact that the extreme differences found in the 
common school districts have been eliminated. From the stand- 
point of state aid the data in this table prove that the equalization 
in school support furnished by the larger local tax unit is not suffi- 
cient to meet the needs of schools. 

State Aid 

Why Have State Aid? — We have found it necessary to create 
states in order to secure protection, liberty, justice, and to promote 
individual welfare, but at the same time we have seen to it that 
a very large measure of control has been given back by these 
states to the local communities in order that each individual may 
have the largest practicable control of those governmental affairs 
with which he comes in immediate contact. Control of the tax- 
rate and of the expenditure of money raised in local communities 
is one of the most essential features of our democracy and is highly 
prized by all American citizens. 

We must expect, therefore, as a principle of the financial ad- 
ministration of schools, that local support shall be fundamental in 
any system that may be established. It does not follow, however, 
that school support should be entirely local. There are certain 
reasons why it should not be so. It has been shown repeatedly in 
this study that there are great differences in the ability of various 
districts to support schools, and that it is difficult for many of them 
to maintain schools of even poor quality. It has also been shown 
that there are great differences among different communities in 
their conceptions of a proper standard of school for an American 

236 



community. Some communities seem to realize that the future of 
our nation depends very largely on the character of education 
given in the schools, and that the future happiness and success in 
life of their children are likewise largely dependent upon the kind 
of schooling they have. While, on the other hand, there are other 
communities, many of which are well-to-do, that seem to look 
upon the school not as an opportunity for them to serve their 
country and to promote the welfare of their children, but rather as a 
burdensome thing which has been imposed upon them from with- 
out; or, if they do accept the school as a worthy institution, their 
standards of what a good school should be are so low that the 
interests of the state as a whole, the well-being of the particular 
community in which the school is situated, and the future happi- 
ness of the children living within it are each and all affected in a 
harmful manner. 

Under such circumstances as these, when districts are unable to 
support schools, or, if able, are not willing to support schools of a 
quality corresponding to their wealth, the question arises whether 
the state government representing all the people cannot and should 
not do something to improve the conditions in such districts. In 
case of invasion by foreign troops or in case of mob violence which 
cannot be controlled by the local authorities all would say that 
state money should be spent in restoring peace and order, not only 
that the communities in question might be benefited, but also to 
insure the future well-being of the remainder of the state. While 
the effects of a poor school upon a particular community and upon 
the portions of the state lying outside of it are not so apparent or 
so immediate as those of an invasion or mob, nevertheless the harm 
is just as certain and expenditure of state funds is as fully war- 
ranted in this case as in the former. It is also true that if state 
money can be used to stamp out an epidemic of tuberculosis or 
hog cholera, it can likewise be used to prevent inferior teaching. 

Furthermore, the advancement of the general welfare through 
the expenditure of state money has been just as generally recognized 
as the maintenance of peace and order and protection from disease. 
State money is spent to promote state fairs, experiments in agri- 
culture, and extension courses in a variety of subjects relating to 

237 



farming. Through such expenditures as these the standards as to 
what constitutes good farming are constantly rising, and not only 
the farmers, but all who consume the products of the farm are 
benefited thereby. It pays the people of all the state to stimulate 
farmers, by the giving of instruction, to obtain the most and the 
best from the land they possess. It pays also to grant rewards 
to those farmers and to those boys and girls of the farm who have 
done particularly meritorious work. The benefits that come from 
this sort of reward and the stimulation to all people of the state 
are much greater than the cost. 

It is the same in education as in farming. The state should 
always do something to stimulate every school district to do its 
best. It also ought to grant rewards to school districts, teachers, 
and pupils who do a particularly meritorious thing. The benefits 
that will come to the entire state, not to mention those that will 
come to the particular districts, are much greater than the costs. 

Objects of State Aid. — State aid should then be administered 
in such a way as to make good schools possible in all communities 
of the state, so that no community would have a reasonable excuse 
for a poor school. It ought also to stimulate every school district 
in the state to have better schools, thereby constantly raising the 
standard of education and promoting the continual progress of the 
life of all the people in the state. It also ought to reward any 
school that takes a new step in an efficient manner because of the 
meritorious performance that such a step indicates. It should do 
all these things, not only to protect the state from ignorance in the 
exercise of the ballot and to provide leaders, but also for the further 
just as important purpose, to promote in every possible way the 
individual welfare of every person in it, which, applied to schools, 
means that all these forms of aid should be utilized so as to guar- 
antee for each child that education which is best to fit him for life, 
irrespective of the particular community in which he may happen 
to live. It is upon such grounds as this that the state is justified 
in taking, through taxation, a citizen's money and expending it 
in places other than that in which he resides. It is done because 
the state as a whole and in most cases he himself will benefit from 
it far more than what it costs. 

238 



Proportion of Support That Should Come From the State. 
— Just what proportion of local support should be furnished by 
the state is dependent upon a number of factors, among which are 
the equalities of wealth among the various local districts and the 
differences among the people in their interests in schools. The 
sources of taxation that are utilized by state and local governments 
is also a factor. Standards in these particulars have not as yet 
been worked out and generally accepted. It is clear, however, 
that in a state such as New York, where local school taxes come 
almost entirely from the taxation of real estate and large amounts 
of money come to the state from business, income, and inheritance 
taxes, and where there are such great inequalities in wealth and 
differences in interest in schools, the state should properly give 
large amounts of money to the support of local schools. 

Methods of Administration of State Aid. — When we turn 
to the consideration of the methods by which the state money 
shall be distributed among the schools of the state, we find that 
there are certain controlling principles, one of which is the preserva- 
tion and promotion of a democratic form of government. State 
aid should be distributed in such a way as to promote the efficient 
participation of citizens in the exercise of citizenship. 

The converse of this proposition is that it should not be so 
administered as to promote bureaucracy or autocratic control in 
either state, county, or local education offices. This can be ac- 
complished if, on the one hand, the withholding of funds by state 
officers is exercised only in proportion to the seriousness of the 
shortcoming; and if, on the other hand, right action unfailingly 
meets its reward. The facts are that, in a fairly large number of 
the communities of every state, we need a change in attitude on 
the part of the citizens toward the schools. These communities 
can be frequently led to change their vote, to substitute right 
action for wrong action over a sufficiently long period of years, 
and to bring about a fundamental change in their attitudes toward 
the benefits of education. That which a citizen learns through the 
operation of his own action becomes firmly established, while that 
which is forced upon him against his will he opposes more firmly. 
It is, therefore, fundamental in state aid that we leave final deci- 

239 



sion to the local community, and leave them to choose what is 
best. In the doing of this we will have a stronger agency in the 
making of a better government and a better society. 

Such a plan encourages not only the most advanced districts and 
so keeps the entire body moving, but also constantly stimulates 
those districts that are lagging behind to come up to the state- wide 
standards that have already been adopted through what was 
learned from the experience of the more progressive districts. 

Principles Governing State Aid. — In the light of this treat- 
ment we are able to arrive at certain fundamental principles re- 
lating to state aid as follows: 

1. Local support is fundamental. 

2. The local units for the support of schools should contain, in 
so far as practicable, enough property taxable for school purposes 
to raise that portion of the expenses of the school which it is be- 
lieved should be borne by the local districts without an undue 
burden upon the owners of property. 

3. Some portion of the support of local schools should come from 
the state government, the amount being dependent upon certain 
factors, exact standards for which have not been scientifically de- 
termined. 

4. The administration of state aid should be such as to increase 
the efficient participation of citizens in a democratic form of 
government. 

5. The purposes of state aid should be not only to protect the 
state from ignorance, to provide intelligent workers in every field 
of activity, and to educate leaders, but also to guarantee to each 
child, irrespective of where he happens to live, equal opportunity 
to that of any other child for that education which will best fit him 
for life. 

Criteria Applicable to State Aid. — The following points will 
furnish criteria on which the efficiency of certain forms of state 
aid may be based. That form which satisfies the largest number 
of these principles is better than any other which satisfies only 
portions of them. 

1 . A portion or all of the state money should be withheld from any 
local district whenever it is clearly established that those minimum 

240 



standards established by the legislature regarding schools are not 
fully met. The proportion withheld should be dependent upon 
the extent of the shortcoming and the number of previous de- 
linquencies. 

2. The state should encourage by grants the introduction of new 
features into the schools of the state, especially those which would 
not ordinarily be undertaken by many communities of their own 
volition. 

3. Local communities should, by the assistance of state aid, be 
constantly stimulated to raise the standard of their schools as 
regards the qualifications of teachers employed, courses of study 
taught, and equipment furnished, and every other feature that 
goes to make up a good school. The purpose of this principle is 
to encourage the districts to raise themselves higher and higher 
above the minimum standards. 

4. The state should, in the distribution of money among the 
various districts, seek to equalize the tax burdens of various dis- 
tricts in the support of schools in order that the equalization of 
educational opportunity among all of the children of the state can 
be the more easily secured. The points in the scale of equalized 
valuations per teacher to which this equalization should be carried 
is to be determined, upon the one hand, by the amounts of money 
available, and, on the other hand, by the compelling necessity of 
preserving and stimulating democratic control of schools in local 
communities. 

Present System of State Aid in New York. — The present 
system of state aid for the support of schools in the state of New 
York is divisible into eight parts: (1) District Quotas; (2) Teacher 
Quotas; (3) Additional Teacher Quotas; (4) Vocational Teacher 
Quotas; (5) Physical Training Teacher Quotas; (6) Library and 
Equipment Quotas; (7) High School Tuition Quotas, and (8) 
Academic Quotas. 

Each of these forms of state aid need not be judged separately 
in the light of the "Principles for Criteria" given above. 

(1) and (2) The first two forms of aid — the district quotas and the 
teacher quotas — may be taken together, since they constitute the 
only form of state aid applicable to all districts until the passage 
16 241 



of the Additional District Quota Law in 1920. The district quotas 
were as follows: 

Assessed Valuation State Aid 

Less than $20,000 $200 

$20,001-40,000 175 

40,001-60,000 150 

Over 60,000 125 

To those districts that have more than one teacher $100 was 
given for each of them; thus it is known as the teacher quota. 

Table 41. — Correlation Between Amount or State Aid on Basis of As- 
sessed Valuation and Equalized Millage per Teacher, Delaware No. 
1, Monroe No. 1, Tompkins No. 1, Year Ending July 31, 1920 



Amount of 
State Aid 


Equalized Rate in Mills 





1 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


$200 
175 
150 
125 


"l 


'5 


1 
11 


2 

1 

15 


3 
10 


1 
4 
5 
9 


4 
2 

5 


3 
3 
1 
3 


1 
3 
1 
1 


2 
3 
3 


4 
1 


3 
2 
1 


Total 


2 


5 


12 


18 


13 


19 


11 


10 


6 


8 


5 


6 







Amount 




























of 
State 


12 


13 


14 


16 


17 


19 


20 


24 


30 


32 


33 


Totals 


Medi- 


Aid 




























$200 








1 






1 


1 


1 


1 


1 


20 


$10.75 


175 


2 


2 


i 




4 


i 












32 


9.00 


150 
























18 


5.80 


125 
























61 


3.83 


Total . . 


2 


2 


1 


1 


4 


1 


1 


1 


1 


1 


1 


131 


$5.81 



Applying the four criteria to the scheme of state aid we find that 
it satisfies only the first criterion, and that but imperfectly, be- 
cause it doesn't permit of the withholding of a part of the state 

242 



grants — all must be withheld or none. It does not reward a dis- 
trict — a district receives its share, no matter what it does with the 
money, no matter whether or not it spends its money wisely. That 
it does not stimulate additional effort and that it does not take 
into account to any great degree the ability of the district to sup- 
port a good school are shown by the great variation in true tax- 
rates among the various districts as brought out in Table 41. 

It would have been better had the amounts been based upon 
equalized valuations because of the variations in assessment rates, 
but as it is, it places a premium upon low valuations of taxable 
property which is generally recognized it is desirable to discourage. 
The same wide variation in true tax-rates is also evident by a similar 
table based upon equalized valuations. 

(3) Since 1920 the districts of the state have received, in addi- 
tion to the district and teacher quotas given above, the following 
much larger quotas for each teacher: 



First-class cities having a population of over 1,000,000 (New York, 

Buffalo, Rochester) $600 

Second-class cities 550 

Other cities of 50,000 or more 450 

Cities of less than 50,000 and villages under superintendents 350 

Other union free school districts 350 

Other schools employing more than one teacher 300 

Each school district employing one teacher, having assessed valuation ex- 
ceeding $100,000 200 

Other school districts employing one teacher and assessed valuation of 
$100,000 or less receive $200 plus $3 for each $1000 valuation less than 
$100,000. 



We are interested primarily in the effect of this law upon the 
last three classes of districts. It fails to satisfy the first three of 
the criteria to the same extent as the previous law, and for the 
same reasons. It is, however, an improvement, since it partially 
satisfies the fourth criterion. Since the first distribution under this 
law did not occur until the present year, we have, in order to com- 
pare the effects of the two laws, worked out the tax-rates that it 
would be necessary to raise under each plan in districts of different 
valuations in order to meet an assumed annual cost of $900. These 
data are brought together in Table 42. 

243 



Table 42. — Amounts One-Teacher Districts of Varying Valuations 
Would Have to Raise by Local Tax, and the Tax-Rates Under State 
Aid in 1920 and 1921, Assuming Cost To Be $900 per Teacher 



Valuation 


State Aid 


Local Tax 


Tax-Rate 
















1920 


1921 


1920 


1921 


1920 


1921 


$10,000 


$200 


$670 


$700 


$230 


$0.0700 


$0.0230 


20,000 


200 


640 


700 


260 


0.0350 


0.0130 


30,000 


175 


585 


724 


315 


0.0241 


0.0105 


40,000 


175 


555 


725 


345 


0.0181 


0.0086 


50,000 


150 


500 


730 


400 


0.0150 


0.0080 


60,000 


150 


470 


750 


430 


0.0125 


0.0072 


70,000 


125 


415 


775 


485 


0.0110 


0.0069 


80,000 


125 


385 


775 


515 


0.0096 


0.0064 


90,000 


125 


355 


775 


545 


0.0086 


0.0061 


100,000 


125 


325 


775 


575 


0.0077 


0.0058 


110,000 


125 


325 


775 


575 


0.0070 


0.0052 


120,000 


125 


325 


775 


575 


0.0064 


0.0048 


130,000 


125 


325 


775 


575 


0.0059 


0.0044 


140,000 


125 


325 


775 


575 


0.0055 


0.0041 


150,000 


125 


325 


775 


575 


0.0051 


0.0038 


160,000 


125 


325 


775 


575 


0.0048 


0.0035 


170,000 


125 


325 


775 


575 


0.0045 


0.0033 


180,000 


125 


325 


775 


575 


0.0043 


0.0031 


190,000 


125 


325 


775 


575 


0.0040 


0.0030 


200,000 


125 


325 


775 


575 


0.0038 


0.0028 



Table 42 shows that districts of the lowest valuations receive the 
largest grants from the state and that for districts of less than 
$100,000 valuation the amount increased regularly and inversely 
with the wealth of the districts. The shortcomings in the law are 
as follows: 

(a) It is still necessary for districts of lower valuation to pay 
high taxes, while districts of higher valuation can conduct 
the same schools with the same degree of excellence at much 
lower tax-rates, although the differences are not so large as 
they were previously. The principle of equalization of the 
tax burden — the fourth criterion — is not carried far enough. 
Equalization of educational opportunities through equaliza- 
tion of support — the fourth criterion — is not promoted to 
the degree it should be. 

244 



(b) The law does not take into account the differences among 
the various districts in the amount of money that each 
chooses to put into its schools. In other words, the third 
criterion is not observed at all. Taking two school districts 
of the same valuation, the one with the cheap teacher, 
poorly equipped school gets as much as the school which 
employs an excellent teacher and has superior equipment. 
Take, for example, two common school districts each having 
a valuation of $50,000 and each receiving $400 from the state: 
assume one of the three employs a teacher at $20 per week 
and keeps its school costs close to $800, while the other 
employs a teacher at $25 per week, continues its school for 
forty weeks, and has costs amounting to $1100 or more. 
If the number of pupils in these two schools is the same and 
other conditions influencing education similar, the second 
school is worthy of greater recognition because it has done 
more for the state than has the first. 

The present law, in denying such recognition, creates an 
unfortunate attitude of mind in the people of the rural dis- 
tricts that seriously interferes with school progress. Know- 
ing that nothing they may do except the keeping down of 
the rate of assessment will influence the amount of money 
they will receive from the state, provided they maintain 
the minimum standards they plan to get on with as little 
as they can and so impair the efficiency of the school. An- 
other unfortunate effect is that they look upon the state 
money as something they are rightfully entitled to, irrespec- 
tive of what they do with the school, and fail to see that the 
state rightfully expects something of them in return beyond 
the maintenance of minimum standards. 

The practical effect of the fixed kind of state aid is to 
make state support basal, since each board of education 
knows for certain what is coming from the state and super- 
imposes its local tax upon it in sufficient amount to raise the 
funds desired. This violates the first principle relating to 
support of schools. Local support should be basal and 
state support should be dependent upon the local tax rather 
than the local tax upon state aid. 

245 



(4 and 5) The Physical Training and Vocational Teacher Quotas. 
— The survey has not studied intensively the operation of these 
quotas. They satisfy in principle criterion No. 2. Since equaliza- 
tion of educational burden is largely secured through a revised form 
of general aid, it is recommended that these quotas be retained in 
their present form. 

(6) Library and Equipment Quotas. — The form of state support 
second in importance to the rural schools is the library and equip- 
ment quota, in which case the state pays an amount equal to that 
raised in the districts. The principle back of this form of grant is 
to be commended in that it stimulates local districts to do their 
best. Its weakness lies in the fact that it takes no account of the 
varying capacity of districts to raise money for these purposes. 
Since the amounts of money required are not large, this objection 
is not of great force. It should be retained in its present form, but 
a larger appropriation, amounting to at least $250,000 per year, 
granted in order to meet the demands upon it. At present full 
returns cannot be allowed because of limited funds. 

(7) High School Tuition. — The $50 per year paid by the state 
for tuition in high school for non-resident students has no place in a 
rational system of school support, although it is intended to achieve 
a worthy aim and doubtless has been of great benefit to a large 
number, although by no means to all the young people of the 
state residing in rural districts. It is recommended by the com- 
mittee that every child residing in a district not having a high 
school who has satisfactorily completed the elementary schools 
shall be given the right to attend any standard high school in the 
state that he chooses, within certain reasonable limitations, and to 
have his tuition paid by his local district, this district including the 
charge as part of its other expenses, which should be reimbursed 
by the state for such share as its true valuation per teacher and its 
tax-rate entitles it under the plan to be outlined hereafter. The 
amounts of tuition charged by high schools should be as large as 
the cost per pupil for the previous year, as determined in accordance 
with the rules of the State Department. 

(8) Academic Quotas. — The academic quotas granted to high 
schools have in the past served as a reward for the establishment 

246 



of new departments or extension of old departments in local schools 
(criterion No. 2). They might well serve that purpose still in 
small villages, where people hesitate to establish high schools, but 
the value of this form of state aid in cities and larger villages has 
passed. The fact that the grant has been in the same amount, 
irrespective of the ability of the district to pay it or of the amount 
of money that they are putting into high schools, has acted as 
a limitation upon its highest efficiency. The survey recommends 
that this form of state aid be dropped and that, instead, there be 
granted to union free school and common school districts aid for 
high schools in proportion to the number of teachers employed and 
as supplementary to the more fundamental form of state aid which 
takes into account true valuation and amount of money spent, as 
will be outlined below. 

Unfortunate Omissions in the System of State Aid. — State 
aid, as it exists at present in New York, has not encouraged as it 
should in the rural schools the consolidation of districts, the erection 
of schoolhouses, or high school education among the pupils who have 
completed the elementary schools. On the contrary, as it now 
stands it works against the consolidation of districts into larger 
units. This and other weaknesses in the present system of school 
support should be avoided in any new system that may be adopted. 

The plan for state support offered by the committee is proposed 
for rural and village schools only, although its principles might be 
extended to all districts. It consists of two main divisions: (A) 
General Aid; (B) Various Forms of Special Aid. A system of 
general aid is proposed which operates constantly in such a manner 
as to satisfy all the principles mentioned above, and the first, third, 
and fourth criteria. Forms of special aid are offered in addition 
to those now existing that were recommended above for retention 
to supplement the general aid and to satisfy the second criterion. 

Recommendations 

1. (A) General Aid. — The system of state aid herein proposed 

involves two fundamental elements which must be established 

before the formula for determining aid to be given each district 

can be worked out. First, the equalized valuation up to the level 

247 



of which the state is willing to do its part in bringing all districts 
that are below that level. This may be called the Base for the 
Equalization of the Tax Burden. Different points can be chosen 
for this base, but in the judgment of the survey it should be at or 
near the mean or median equalized valuation of all the school 
units of the state, assuming each teacher constitutes a school unit. 
The survey has found this median equalized valuation to be slightly 
over $290,000. The second fundamental element is the amount it 
costs to conduct an elementary school unit, such as is represented 
by one teacher. This may be placed at any point desired. The 
average cost per teacher of elementary schools in 1920 of towns 
and villages throughout the entire state was $1054. This amount 
will undoubtedly be increased as the standards of instruction and 
of operation and maintenance are increased, and the state might 
properly recognize either this median or a higher standard as the 
norm, as, for example, $1200. These two elements can be used to 
work out what may be called a distribution coefficient, which, 
when combined with the other three factors, will give such amounts 
for every school district as will satisfy the three criteria given above. 
The method of determining this coefficient will be presented in the 
volume dealing with the complete discussion of school support. 

The plan of general aid is divisible into two parts: first, for dis- 
tricts having equalized valuations below the base for the equaliza- 
tion of the tax burden (this part is particularly applicable to the 
rural schools of the state) and, second, for districts having valua- 
tions above this amount. The amount of state support for any 
district included in the first part of the plan is determined by multi- 
plying together the four factors: 

(a) The deficit in equalized valuations (expressed in thousands). 

(b) Equalized tax-rate of the district (expressed as number of 
mills). 

(c) Number of teachers. 

(d) The distribution coefficient (expressed in terms of money). 

For the distribution of general state aid for those dis- 
tricts below the median equalized valuation per teacher, 
i. e., $290,000, it is recommended that these factors be com- 
bined in the formula (290,000— V) M X T X .626 be adopted 
248 



for districts below the median valuation. (In this formula V 
stands for equalized valuation expressed in thousands of dol- 
lars, M for the tax-rate' in mills, T for the number of teach- 
ers in the unit, and .626 for the distribution coefficient.) In 
the application of this formula every community with a valu- 
ation under the median shall receive at least $48 per teacher. 
In the application of this formula the maximum amount of 
general aid to be granted by the state shall not exceed the 
amount obtained when the number of mills reaches ten. 

In districts above the median equalized valuation the fol- 
lowing grants shall be made: 

Equalized Valuation 
per Teacher 

Less than $300,000 $48 

$300,000-399,000 40 

400,000-499,000 32 

500,000-599,000 24 

600,000-699,000 16 

700,000-799,000 8 

2. No school shall be entitled to the full amount of aid provided 
for under this plan unless it has an average daily attendance of eight 
pupils. Any school that falls below this number shall be granted 
only such proportion of its allotment as its average daily attendance 
bears to the standard denominator eight. Thus a school with an 
average daily attendance of five would receive only $/i of the 
allotment which it would receive had it the full quota of eight. 
The Board of Education of the intermediate unit should have the 
authority to waive the application of this rule in those schools 
which, in its judgment, should, under present circumstances, as 
regards condition of roads, distance, etc., be retained as separate 
schools in order to promote the best interests of pupils attending 
them. This privilege should also apply in cases in which weather 
conditions, epidemics, etc., interfere with school attendance. All 
cases of exemption shall be approved by the State Department of 
Education. 

3. While the above plan is basal and covers all types of schools, 
nevertheless inasmuch as the salaries and other expenses of second- 
ary schools exceed those of elementary schools, it is desirable that 

249 



the state should grant districts having teachers of secondary grade 
an amount for each teacher which would represent this difference 
in cost. This aid, in the judgment of the committee, should not 
apply to all districts, but only to those included in the operation of 
the first part of the plan and such other districts lying just above 
them in the distribution scale of true valuation as would produce 
equalization among all districts for the support of the secondary 
school in the same way as the first part of the plan provides for 
it in the support of elementary schools. This would include all 
districts having approximately a valuation of less than $350,000 
per teacher in case $400 is taken as the difference between the cost 
of a secondary school unit and an elementary school unit, which 
amount is recommended by the committee. This additional aid 
is to be applicable in cases in which a junior high school is estab- 
lished. 

4. The community unit shall be the unit of local taxation for 
school purposes. 

5. (B) Special Aid. — Aid should be granted for the erection of 
schoolhouses and teacherages on the following basis: 



Districts Having a Valuation per Teacher of Less Than — 



$50,000 


30 percent of cost of building and equipment 


50,000-$99,000 


25 " " " " " " " " 


100,000-149,000 


20 " " " " 


150,000-199,000 


15 " " " " 


200,000-249,000 


10 " " " " 


250,000-299,000 


5 " " " " 


300,000-over 


" " " " 



These buildings are to be erected in accordance with plans 
approved by the State Department of Education. 

6. A similar form of aid should be granted to communities for 
the making of major improvements to buildings, such as would be 
considered outlays within the rules of the State Department of 
Education and in amount according to the plan proposed above. 

7. In order to assist communities in bearing the expenses of trans- 
portation it is recommended that, for each $1200 of transportation 
expense, the number of teachers used in determining the amount 
of aid should be increased by one. If a school had six teachers and 

250 



a transportation expense of $1200, it would be considered as having 
seven teachers in the multiplication of the four factors used in 
determining amount of aid, but not in determining the equalized 
valuation per teacher. In case of an expenditure of less than $1200, 
the expense should be prorated in determining the number of 
teachers. 

8. To induce competent teachers to go into the one-teacher 
schools, a direct grant of $20 per month should be made to a teacher 
who teaches in a one-teacher school, and who belongs to either one 
of the following groups: 

(a) A normal school graduate or equivalent with three years of 
teaching experience. 

(b) A graduate of one of the rural teacher training departments 
of the normal school as provided for in the section on prepara- 
tion of teachers. 

9. In order to discourage the appointment of teachers of inferior 
qualifications it is recommended that a graduated series of de- 
ductions from the state aid be devised so that for each teacher of 
inferior qualifications that is appointed the apportionment will be 
reduced by $100, the second time the same teacher is appointed 
the deduction should be $200, and so on. 

10. It is recommended that the supervisory quota be extended 
to union free school districts. It should be prorated on the basis 
of the time devoted by the principal to supervision in his school. 

Under this plan the community would be entitled to an elemen- 
tary teacher's quota for the principal. In addition there would be 
the extra high school teacher's quota and a supervisory quota to be 
based on the proportion of time devoted to supervision. 

11. It is recommended that there be state aid to the intermediate 
unit to the extent of two-thirds the salary of the superintendent, 
and of his assistants up to certain maximum amounts to be fixed 
by law and by regulation of the State Department of Education. 

12. Bonded Indebtedness. — It is impossible to devise a plan 
for taking care of the bonded indebtedness that will be perfectly 
fair to every situation that exists in the state. It seems best, since 
all the school property within the community unit becomes the 
property of the community, that the community assume the bonded 

351 



indebtedness. The committee believes that, as a means of ad- 
justing the situation, where bonds are outstanding on buildings 
completed in the last five years, the community unit should receive 
aid from the state in accordance with the suggested state aid for 
new buildings. 

The Effect of the Plan Upon Local Tax-Rates 
In order to test out the financial effects of any new form of local 
unit and of state support that might be finally decided upon, four 
competent rural school experts made intensive studies in the three 
counties — Delaware, Tompkins, and Monroe — with a view to show- 
ing how much it would cost to conduct properly organized and 
equipped schools in each of the various communities, taking into ac- 
count in each case the peculiar circumstances, as in the case of trans- 
portation of pupils that were involved. The sources of school support 
in each district and town were likewise studied. The computations 
were carefully made and have since been studied with care. As a 
result, we are able to present in Table 43 a comparison of the local 
tax-rates for schools in various community districts under varying 
conditions as to location of schools and forms of state support. 
Four different situations are included. All assume the establish- 
ment of the community district. The differences in tax-rates in 
the community district plan and in the present organization of 
common schools and union free school districts have been dis- 
cussed. The first column shows what the tax-rate would have 
been in each community district this year were such a district in 
actual operation, with the schools situated as they now are, and 
with the present law relating to state support still in operation. 

The second column shows what the tax-rates would have been 
in each community district this year with the schools as they now 
are, but with the system of state support proposed above in actual 
operation in as far as the organization of schools makes it possible. 
The third and fourth columns, 3a and 3b, assume that community 
schools with adequate high school building and equipment, proper 
transportation facilities, and all that goes with a first-class school, 
should have been established in these community districts, — as 
many of them in each as circumstances require, — and that the 

252 



Table 43. — Comparison of Tax-Rates in Community Districts: (1) With 
Schools as Now Organized and Present Aid; (2) with Schools as Or- 
ganized and Proposed Revised Am; (3) with Reorganized Community 
Schools and Proposed Revised State Auj; (a) Current Expenses Only; 
(b) Current Expense, New Buildings, and Transportation Equipment 





(1) 


(2) 


(3a) 


(3b) 


Delaware County 
Supervisory District No. 1 : 
Sidney Center 


3.81 
11.10 

8.78 

6.50 
4.70 

9.54 
6.58 
5.71 

4.04 
6.16 
7.72 

7.01 

5.70 
8.06 
5.30 

4.01 
6.92 
5.49 
6.05 

9.00 
4.85 
7.62 

8.20 
6.45 
8.35 


4.23 
6.90 
6.70 

5.52 
5.64 

7.32 
6.24 
5.17 

5.36 
7.01 
6.39 

6.06 

4.83 
6.18 
5.05 

4.75 
5.45 
5.80 
5.32 

4.52 
4.64 
6.43 

5.50 
4.50 
5.18 


4.32 
5.51 
5.42 

5.85 
5.21 

6.00 
6.56 
5.56 

5.85 
5.72 
7.40 

6.30 
6.25 
6.21 
5.25 

5.58 
5.71 
5.50 
4.86 

6.40 
5.52 
5.66 

5.86 
6.14 
5.20 


4.78 


Masonville 

Tompkins 


7.77 
6 63 


Supervisory District No. 2 : 

Colchester 

Hancock 


7.11 
6 37 


Supervisory District No. 3: 

Delhi 

Walton 

Hamden 

Supervisory District No. 5 : 

Franklin 


7.96 
7.12 
6.70 

6 16 


Davenport 


6 32 


Meredith 


7 77 


Supervisory District No. 6: 
Stamford 


6 98 


Harpersfield 


6 65 


Kortright 


7.01 


Bovina 


5 93 


Monroe County 

Supervisory District No. 1 : 
Henrietta 


6 21 


Supervisory District No. 2 : 
Mendon 


6 23 


Supervisory District No. 3 : 
Parma 


6.25 


Supervisory District No. 4: 
Ogden 


5.61 


Tompkins County 

Supervisory District No. 1: 
Newfield 


7.46 


Enfield 


7.21 


Ulysses 


6.16 


Supervisory District No. 3: 
Danby 


6.71 


Caroline 

Dryden 


6.95 

5.77 







2S3 



only one-room schools remaining are those that should not be 
closed as long as conditions remain as they now are. It also 
assumes that all the features of the proposed new plan of state 
support are utilized. Column 3a shows the tax-rate for current 
expenses only, which, according to the plan proposed, must be 
estimated separately, while column 3b shows the total tax-rate, 
including the tax-rate for outlays as well. 
A study of the table shows the following: 

1. That unusually high taxes and also unusually low taxes would 
still prevail in certain community districts, as is now the case in 
common and union free school districts with the present system of 
state aid. 

2. That these extremes would be removed with the proposed 
revised system of state aid. 

3. The taxes would be, on the whole, lower than before. This 
is an advantage, since it would now be possible for such districts 
to secure better teachers and have more and better equipment 
without having to pay a tax-rate above the normal. 

4. The tax-rate for the current expenses of the community schools 
would be higher than for the present schools in some districts and 
lower in others, these differences depending upon the number of 
pupils per teacher (especially in the high schools), the salaries paid 
teachers, the length and difficulty of the transportation routes, 
and the number of old schoolhouses permanently abandoned. 

5. The additional tax-rates required for new buildings under the 
plan of state aid proposed would be small. 

6. The average tax for rural schools in the districts presented, 
picked at random, including the tax for buildings, would be lower 
than the present tax-rates in the same communities. 

Under these conditions citizens of rural communities could not 
object to the establishment of community schools on the ground 
of cost if such reorganization of school district and school support 
as is recommended in this survey were adopted. 

On the other hand, the necessity for furnishing so favorable a 
situation as this in order to induce citizens of rural communities 
to establish the most efficient type of schools is sufficient warrant 
for the state offering such liberal inducements, since so far as edu- 

254 



cation is concerned, no part of the system can be permitted to lag 
behind, and since, so far as the interests of democracy are concerned, 
the right of each local community to act upon such fundamental 
questions as the tax-rate and the kind of school it shall maintain 
cannot be taken from it. The removal of insurmountable financial 
disadvantages and the stimulation of each local community to 
realize its best through the state government are necessary features 
of state schools in a democratic form of government. 

Conclusion 
The plan of state support outlined above is very similar to the 
scheme of state aid already granted to towns under the highway 
law. It is founded on the general principle that the local support 
of schools is basal and that the function of state support is to 
complement and supplement the efforts made by local districts, 
and that the amounts given should be adjusted to the efforts made, 
as determined by the property valuations, on the one hand, and the 
cost of schools, on the other, the combined effect of which appears 
in the tax-rate. Thus in its operation it will work out almost in 
the opposite direction from the practice which now commonly pre- 
vails, which is, first, to find out how much the state will furnish, 
and then bring the local taxes up to the point that is necessary to 
support a local school. The plan proposed above operates to find 
out, first, how much a local district can reasonably raise, and then 
the state steps in and gives it the difference between this amount 
and that which should be provided in order to have an efficient 
school. It also encourages each and every district to have the best 
school. 



255 



CHAPTER XIV 
REACTIONS OF RURAL SCHOOL PATRONS 

IT IS essential in a democracy that provision be made for par- 
ticipation in school affairs by the public. In the ordinary 
conduct of the school this feature is provided through school 
meetings in which the patrons have an opportunity to make their 
influence felt directly, or through boards of education that are 
representative of lay interests. In the organization of the Joint 
Committee on Rural Schools arrangements were made for repre- 
sentation of both lay and professional interests. The committee, 
however, did not consider this adequate. It desired more direct 
contacts with the rural school patrons of the state. 

As a means of attaining this end, provision was made for a series 
of "hearings" in different sections of the state, to which all who 
were interested in rural schools were invited. In addition, sev- 
eral thousand booklets were sent to rural school patrons through- 
out the state. To facilitate their distribution, and to encourage 
group discussions of the suggested questions, they were distributed 
largely through local granges and the farm and home bureau 
organizations. A general invitation was extended, also, to those 
who were not members of any of these bodies, to secure copies 
of the booklets and to send in their suggestions. As a result of 
this method of distribution, some of the booklets contain expres- 
sions of relatively large groups, but in other instances they give 
statements of individual opinions only. In most instances the 
number answering was given in the booklet as requested. 

The views expressed on some of the questions have been in- 
corporated in the body of the report. This is true especially in 
the case of the chapter dealing with the State System of Examina- 
tions. In spite of the fact that some of the results have been thus 

256 



used, there seemed to be a place for a separate consideration of the 
more important problems. This chapter has been prepared for 
that reason. 

Choice or District Superintendents 
In the booklet an expression of opinion was asked regarding the 
method of selection of district superintendents of schools. In 4467 
replies to this question, 65 percent were in favor of popular election, 
31 percent desired the retention of the present system, and various 
methods of choice differing from these two were suggested, by 4 
percent. The idea of choice by popular election was brought for- 
ward at many of the meetings held by the committee. That this 
idea is rather prevalent is shown by the frequency with which 
resolutions favoring it are passed by such organizations as the 
grange. 

An examination of the recommendations of the committee will 
show that its suggestion on this point is not in accord with the ma- 
jority sentiment of the school patrons who expressed themselves. 
Evidence from the meetings seems to indicate that the demand for 
choice of district superintendents by popular vote is based chiefly 
on the desire of the people for a larger voice in the control of school 
affairs. Especially is this true with reference to certain powers 
that now reside in the hands of the district superintendents. With 
the wish for a larger measure of lay responsibilities in the conduct 
of school affairs the committee found itself in many respects in 
accord. It believes, however, that it has made provision for a 
more effective expression of lay opinion than could be secured 
by popular election of superintendents by associating with these 
officers a board representative of the people. This board will 
have the superintendent as its professional officer, and will have the 
power to pass on policies relating to the conduct of the schools. 

A further factor led the committee to recommend that the dis- 
trict superintendent of schools be chosen by a board of education 
instead of by popular vote. The office of district superintendent 
should be put on the highest possible professional plane. Men 
and women should be chosen for this position because of the service 
'' they are able to render to the schools and to school patrons. It is 
17 257 



too important an office, and the opportunity for influence of those 
who hold these positions is too great to be trusted to any except 
those who are professionally equipped. Experience has shown 
that in general more capable men and women will be obtained for 
professional service when choice is made as a result of the delibera- 
tions of a representative board than by popular vote. Especially 
is this true when the board has certain administrative responsi- 
bilities connected with the work of the professional offices, such as 
the committee has recommended in the case of the board of educa- 
tion of the intermediate unit. 

Qualifications of Electors 

An expression of opinion was asked regarding the question of 
qualifications for voting at school elections. In 4704 replies to 
this question, 69 percent favored leaving them as they are, and 31 
percent wished to see them made the same as for the general elec- 
tion. As will be seen by the recommendations of the committee, 
it did not accept the views of the majority as expressed in the book- 
lets. Several factors led to this different recommendation. In 
the replies that were sent in there was practically no expression of 
reasons for retention of the present system or for a change. At 
several meetings at which the question arose, after careful con- 
sideration of the pros and cons, the meetings went on record in 
favor of the change of qualifications to those which obtain at the 
general elections. 

The committee for this reason, and after careful consideration 
of both aspects of the question, felt that for rural communities 
of the state it would be desirable to recommend the change that 
has been made a part of this report. 

Means of Improving Schools 
The opportunity that was given to offer suggestions for the im- 
provement of the schools did not bring nearly as general a response 
as most of the other questions. There were many good sugges- 
tions offered, but the variety was so great that space will not permit 
reporting them in detail. Some of the more common suggestions 
advanced were: More "practical" courses of study, better trained 

258 



teachers, and more emphasis on the fundamental subjects. There 
was, however, a fair proportion who desired to see more attention 
given to such subjects as music and drawing. The suggestions 
that are offered in the recommendations regarding courses of study 
and examinations, the committee believes, will result in greater 
flexibility in the courses of instruction than generally obtains at 
present, and make possible the attainment of most of the sugges- 
tions offered by patrons. 

Consolidation 

There was very general interest in the questions relating to con- 
solidation, as is shown by the fact that 91 percent of the persons 
answering expressed themselves on this phase. This is the largest 
percentage of answers that was obtained on any question. Of those 
reporting, 69 percent were opposed to consolidation and 31 percent 
favored it for their communities. In some instances the approvals 
were qualified by certain reservations. It was felt that some of the 
views expressed on this question were of sufficient interest to justify 
their inclusion in this report. 

Argument Against Consolidation. — "The distance from the 
school center would be too great for children to walk or to wait in 
the cold for transportation. I do not favor the consolidation of 
our school anyway." 

"Consolidation of schools, I believe, would result in many 
farmers leaving their farms and going to the city. Many parents 
object to sending their children far away from home to attend 
school. Why not make our rural schools better schools, but leave 
them as our district centers? There are, I believe, a few cases 
where consolidation would be a benefit. For example, schools 
where there are only one, two, or even three children. In most 
cases these children can be sent to a nearby district with less 
expense and better results, as very good teachers will not consent 
to teach such schools where there are only two or three pupils. I 
do not think the good rural school having good support and co- 
operation of the tax-payers should be consolidated." 

"Distance is too far for the majority of students to attend. 
No advantage except better equipment to work with. Feel we 

259 



might better take that extra tax money we would have to pay and 
improve our own rural school. Find, on conversation with parents, 
that there is hardly more than one out of ten favoring consolidation. 
The only advantage gained is that more teachers have charge of 
the grades and therefore children perhaps receive more attention 
during school hours." 

"We don't want consolidation for schools. We can see no ad- 
vantage." 

"The one great and apparently insurmountable difficulty with 
consolidation is the long tramp or ride — one word, transportation — 
would solve the problem for three-fourths of its opponents. The 
only advantage is the more thorough instruction possible — except 
the commercial advantage to the district favored with a fine new 
school at slight expense. If transportation under mature, trust- 
worthy drivers could be secured at reasonable cost, consolidation 
might appeal to more. Those who favor consolidation now are 
those who have no children to send." 

"Because it requires the children to be carried so far in cold 
weather we don't approve of consolidation. The advantage might 
be that there would be fewer schools, then better teachers could be 
selected, also more children would be under one uniform system. 
For the sake of the small children, if there are plenty of teachers, 
we prefer non-consolidation." 

"Distance is the main objection with us. If our population 
were not so scattered, it would have some advantages. We do not 
favor consolidation at present. We think the advantage in con- 
solidation is outweighed by the disadvantage of overcoming dis- 
tance, if country people are in earnest for a good home school. We 
think consolidation might work well if it could be optional where it 
seems advisable. We think a law could be elastic enough to do 
that." 

"Our children live on many roads, and they would be hard to 
collect. In fact, we have enough pupils for a teacher, a good place 
to put one, and men competent to manage a school, if we could have 
the right kind of teacher. We, of course, would be obliged to help 
build central schools. One advantage would be the oversight of a 



260 



professor, which we have noticed does not always mean a good 
school. We do not favor consolidation." 

Favorable to Consolidation. — "No objection except great 
distance in a few cases. There are many advantages to be gained 
by consolidation of school. The larger school always has a better 
system of grading, better equipment, usually can and does hire 
better teachers, has more effective and modern methods of teaching, 
and has better heating and ventilating systems than the small one- 
room school building. On the whole, the child is happier, healthier, 
and receives a better education as a result of consolidation." 

"I am heart and soul in favor of consolidation. It invariably 
means a little more school tax to the property-holder whose dis- 
trict has been consolidated with a larger one, but the advantages 
to the child are so great that he ought to be glad to pay it." 

"Not any objection. Some schools are so very small that both 
teacher and pupils lose interest in the work. It would save money 
to consolidate, as all tax-payers would have the privilege of helping 
to educate the children and the taxes are equalized to an extent." 

Favorable Replies with Reservations. — "The objection to 
consolidation is the fact that it has been indiscriminately forced 
upon localities without their consent, many times proving a serious 
inconvenience to both pupils and parents without results that 
would warrant it. Causes for this may be physical features of the 
surrounding country and consequent inconvenience of attendance 
by pupils. Advantages are, a larger school, better equipped, less 
number of teachers, but better trained and better paid, a wider list 
of subjects to choose from. On basis of these facts in some cases, 
we believe consolidation would be of benefit to some localities 
of our country, but in many others absolutely impossible. In the 
latter cases we object to any change in district lines. Should it be 
feasible to close a certain school for one or more seasons, the right 
to again open their school should be at the discretion of the voters 
of each district." 

"I am opposed to enforced consolidation. Let the people decide 
for themselves this important question. If enforced consolidation 
were resorted to, it will have a tendency to make less salable all 
places remote from the school center, and in time those outlying 

261 



farms will be abandoned farms. I favor the people's voluntary 
consolidation, as we could have larger, better graded schools." 

"No objection to community consolidation. It is hoped better 
teachers would be secured. Community but not township con- 
solidation." 

"No objections if new districts are properly laid out and proper 
means of transportation are provided. Do not always follow town 
lines in making the consolidations." 

"Except in a few cases, I do not favor consolidation. However, 
to relieve the one-teacher school of a multiplicity of classes, I would 
have all above the sixth grade sent to a school of more than one 
teacher, and when the distance is too far to walk, have them con- 
veyed at public expense." 

Qualifications of Teachers 

In general, the replies regarding teachers favored mature and 
well-trained teachers who make their home in the district in which 
they teach. In the meetings there was a pronounced sentiment 
for a more adequately prepared teaching staff for the rural schools. 
The importance of this cannot be overemphasized, and in its rec- 
ommendations the committee has offered some suggestions that 
it believes will in time provide the country schools with a well- 
prepared teaching force. The work and responsibilities of a 
teacher in a one-teacher school are heavy. It is a more difficult 
position than that of teacher in the graded school system. In 
these schools should be found a fair proportion of the most capable 
teachers of the state. 

The difficulty that teachers experience in many districts in 
securing proper living conditions is proving a serious obstacle to 
country districts in their efforts to secure strong teachers. There 
is undoubtedly need in many districts for giving serious considera- 
tion to providing proper living conditions for the teachers. 

School Support 
The replies to questions regarding school support and the in- 
equalities of taxation under the present system were not so common 
as for most of the questions. In general, there was agreement to 

262 



the idea that the present system is unfair, but the number of con- 
structive suggestions was not large. The general opinion was 
favorable to a change, but the persons answering felt that they were 
not in position to make helpful suggestions. A few answers that 
are fairly representative of the views of those who favored a 
change are given : 

"We can see this is unfair, but are not prepared to make sugges- 
tions on short notice. The tax from public utilities should be 
equalized, but, of course, it would mean more machinery. We do 
think weak districts should receive more public support and be 
allowed the option of consolidation under proper regulation." 

"Taxes received from railroads and other public utilities should 
be turned over to the country and distributed proportionately 
among the various districts in that county." 

"I believe the law that was repealed a few years ago was better 
than the present law. That law was not in effect long enough to 
give it a fair trial. It provided for the taxing of a whole township 
for the maintenance of the schools in the township, and in that 
way all taxes on railroads, etc., benefited every school district in 
the township." 

"In district No. 2, town of Callicoon, the tax-rate this year is 
nearly 4 cents, while an adjoining district, that sends all its pupils 
to the former school, escapes paying a school-tax. This is not fair. 
Provisions should be made by the department whereby the smaller 
districts help to defray the school expenses. Perhaps this could 
be done by consolidation or by forming school units." 

"This body favors a larger unit of taxation, preferably the town. 
It also believes that the unit for disbursing the money should be the 
same as that of taxation." 

It would not be fair to leave the reader with the impression that 
all replies were in accord with those quoted. A small minority 
held different views, and a few of these follow : 

"Leave taxation as it is." 

"The ones that are lucky are not to blame for some one else's 
misfortune." 

"Think it should remain as it is now, for we have losses near the 
railroads which we have to stand many times with stock." 

263 



The sentiment expressed at the meetings that have been held in- 
dicates that patrons generally feel that the inequalities in taxation 
that exist at present should be remedied, if possible. School support 
was one of the most difficult questions the committee had to face. 
There is no phase of this report to which more serious consideration 
has been given. The recommendations are made with a feeling that 
they will, if adopted, put the whole question of support of rural 
schools upon a very much more equitable basis than now obtains. 

Letters from School Patrons 

Since the committee began its work, and especially since portions 
of its tentative recommendations have been made public, a number 
of very suggestive letters have been sent to it. Some of these are 
offered as further evidence of the attitude of farm people regarding 
the rural school conditions in the state. Permission has been ob- 
tained to publish these letters, but the names of the writers are 
withheld. The originals are in possession of the committee, and 
the writers are known to be farmers and farmers' wives. 

"A writer in The American Agriculturist announces that you, as 
chairman of the Committee of Twenty-one, have outlined a ten- 
tative plan for rural school improvement which includes the re- 
tention of the district school and the district school trustee, or local 
self-government. 

"This is education week. I wish to direct your thoughtful atten- 
tion to the fact that the unjust contract system now practised in 
most of the townships in eastern New York is the result of the 
district system, or local self-government. Rural parents are not 
so blind to their children's interests that they approve a plan which 
closes their own school and compels their children's attendance at a 
school two or three miles away without transportation, where the 
equipment is as meager and the conditions as unsatisfactory as at 
home. The contract system doubles the heavy handicap of the 
district system on farm children, and exempts hundreds of school 
districts in eastern New York and elsewhere from school taxation. 

"Rural parents disapprove of a bastard consolidation, or con- 
solidation without transportation, which is another result of local 
self-government. What arguments have the hypocrites offered 

264 



your committee in support of this plan, since they oppose a genuine 
and practical consolidation because rural children must ride three 
or four miles daily where they now walk? 

"Rural parents are not so indifferent to the future of their chil- 
dren that they condone a system due to the indirect influence of 
local self-government which licenses rural teachers having the 
minimum qualifications. 

"This is education week. We have been invited to give special 
attention on this occasion to the needs of the public schools. I 
believe that school improvement is impossible so long as the district 
system and the district trustee are retained. In the hill districts 
of eastern New York not more than one trustee in a half-dozen 
could pass a seventh-grade examination in his own school. Some 
would lose their citizenship if the literacy test were applicable. 

"The district trustee is alone responsible for the outrageous 
sanitary conditions that surround the rural school. In one case 
that came under my observation, where a district school had ob- 
tained drinking-water from a farm-house well two or three hundred 
yards away, and required a more convenient supply, the trustee 
moved the outhouse and dug a well within three or four yards of the 
site. 

"This is education week, Mr. Chairman. Children are in- 
fluenced by their environment. No teacher, however efficient, 
can instil in her pupils a love for American institutions in a dilapi- 
dated, one-room building, lighted by little, old-fashioned, checker- 
board window-panes and heated by a broken second-hand stove. 

"The playground is a powerful factor in the physical, mental, 
moral, and civic development of our youth, but civic pride is not 
promoted on a playground 20 by 40 feet, bordered with weeds, 
ash-piles, two or three stunted shade trees, and an outhouse decor- 
ated with obscene pencil sketches and inscriptions and ancient 
mural carvings of a similar nature. 

"Over these playgrounds, so called, over these disadvantages 
and the hateful injustice of it all, flies the flag, faded, tattered, 
neglected, often; and these farm boys, perhaps, must some time 
defend it, and if need be die for it. These conditions are not an 
inspiration to patriotism. 

265 



"I have mentioned only a few of the disadvantages of the dis- 
trict school system. There are many more of them, and each 
separate one would afford ample material for a longer exhortation. 
I have pointed out the general inefficiency of the system and its 
effect on rural citizenship. There remains the remedy. 

"We recently witnessed the passing of a new school law and its 
immediate repeal. The repeal experience cannot be repeated 
because thinking men and women are now solidly behind the move- 
ment for a permanent revision of the school law that will eliminate 
local control. 

"Yours, Mr. Chairman, for a new centralization law and the 
compulsory consolidation of schools." 

"It behooves me to write to you in regard to a matter much dis- 
cussed by the minority in this school district. By minority I mean 
the people who are educated enough to want a good teacher for the 
children who attend school here. For the past two years, at least, 
we have had an illiterate for trustee, and he appointed a man to 
teach who has had no high school education nor training, and who 
should be examined to see whether he is even fit to teach young 
children of the fourth and fifth grades. Said teacher is never at 
the school-building at 9 o'clock, from 9.15 to 9.30 being the usual 
time. I am wondering if he keeps his record of tardiness in his 
record book. He occasionally dismisses school at noon earlier 
than 12 o'clock — one day recently it was 11.45, and he told the 
children that he would give them a long time to skate on the pond 
nearby, also that he would put up the flag when he wanted them to 
return to the school-building. Some of the neighbors noticed that 
it was 1.30 p. m. before the teacher put up the flag and the children 
assembled. During that long noon intermission the teacher had 
taken a nap on the school benches, and this is one of his bad habits — 
others I will not speak of here. 

"The trustees gave him two days off at the beginning of the hunt- 
ing season, and I suppose the district has paid him the same as if he 
was on duty. At any rate, he does not have to make up the time 
at school. 

"There is no use telling the superintendent about any grievance, 
as complaints have been sent to her before, and no notice has been 

266 



paid to them. As far as the trustee is concerned, he does not bother 
himself about school matters. He could not make out the tax list, 
but left that matter to the teacher, who made errors, one farmer 
being overcharged, etc. 

"Last September an agent came through this section with some 
reference books, encyclopedia, etc., and he told the trustee that he 
must take the encyclopedia for the school, and that the superin- 
tendent wished it. The $40 were paid, and it was the district's 
money. With the exception of some of the neighbors borrowing a 
volume or so at a time, and the young children looking at the 
pictures, the books are not used. They are very useful to pupils 
in the higher grades and high schools, but for these small children 
it was quite unnecessary to expend the money. The school needs 
a new stove, new desks and seats, and many new grade text-books 
and supplementaries. Some of the children have not the required 
books for study, but nothing is said or done about them. 

"One boy of ten years stays at home the greater part of the time, 
but nothing is done in the matter, and ' the easiest way is the best 
way,' covers everything in this district. 

" I could continue at length, but I know you will understand that 
we do want your support and need it very much. I am wondering 
why a trustee has everything to say, and does not consult the people 
in his district as to what is best for the school. 

" Why cannot a ' Committee of Three ' be appointed to look after 
our rural schools and their needs, instead of a trustee who, to my 
thinking, does not know what his duty is to the parents as well as 
the scholars? It seems to me a ' Committee of Three ' from the town 
would be of vastly more benefit to the rural communities than a 
worthless trustee, of which there are so many. Or two men for a 
committee on rural schools would be so much better than one so- 
called trustee. 

"Please give us good teachers, a good committee, and require 
that the pupils have what is required in their school-rooms that are 
essential to their needs, and let me say their health, most of all, 
i. e., a clean school-room, clean school-children, and everything 
pertaining to a hygienic atmosphere. We pray for all these things, 
which are very urgent, be assured. Our district isjpoor for the most 

267 



part, and something has to be done and right quickly to bring the 
children up to the standard and in line of work in their school, so 
much time having been wasted. For any advice we will be more 
than thankful, and we hope to receive help from you, this being the 
earnest wish of all." 

"Yours for the cause of education. Part of your plan I do not 
like; I say, get away from that old district system and do it quickly. 
I know I have not many with me, but that does not change my 
opinion of what should be done. Why are the trustees going to be 
any better collectively than individually? The law compels me to 
send my children to school, when, if I correctly understand the 
report, there is about one chance in two hundred and fifty that the 
school-room will be properly heated, lighted, and ventilated. Is 
this right? For me, I say make all the changes and make them 
quickly. You cannot get things much worse than they are now. 
As for teachers, you may have to train them, but money will get 
stoves, glass, etc., at any time, and what is more valuable than 
health or the eye-sight of our children?" 



268 



APPENDIX 

ILLITERATES IN NEW YORK STATE (1920 CENSUS). 
DISTRIBUTION BY COUNTIES UNDER CITY, 
VILLAGE, AND DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENTS 
OF SCHOOLS 

THE Federal census of 1920 shows that thousands of persons sixteen 
years of age and over who cannot speak or read the English lan- 
guage live in the smaller communities and in the rural sections 
of New York state. In nearly all these communities these illiterate and 
non-English-speaking people are not provided the opportunity to learn 
English, owing to lack of local interest in their welfare and to unwilling- 
ness to appropriate money for their instruction. A district superinten- 
dent, having 50 or 60 different school districts under his supervision, 
finds it impossible to promote the work among so many school boards. 
The result is almost complete failure to make even the most elementary 
provision for these illiterate and non-English-speaking adults, notwith- 
standing the fact that most of these people are permanent residents of 
such communities and that in many places they own a fair proportion of 
the taxable property. Through this utter neglect these foreign-born 
people are less intelligently productive than would be the case if they 
had the opportunity to acquire quickly the ability to use the English 
language; they are less able to cooperate in community activities and in 
enforcement of law and order; they are less sympathetic with American 
principles and ideals and more likely to continue their allegiance to 
foreign governments or to become the easy prey to radical disturbers. 

This problem of adult immigrant education, which was revealed 
during the recent world war as closely related to national unity and 
security, is not being adequately dealt with in the supervisory districts, 
owing to the same lack of local vision which is found wherever the small 
school district exists. 

The size and wide-spread character of the problem in adult immigrant 

269 



Table 44. 



-FOREIGN-BORN WHITES IN NEW YORK STATE 
(By Counties, Census 1920) 







Foreign-born 


Name of County 


Total Population 








Number 


Percent 


New York 


2,284.103 


922,080 


40.4 


Bronx 


732,016 


266,971 


36.5 


Kings 1 


2,018,356 


659,287 


32.7 


Richmond 


116,531 


31,533 


27.1 


Queens 


469,042 


111,676 


23.8 


Albany 


186,106 


29,322 


15.8 


Allegany 


36,842 


1,465 


4.0 


Broome 


113,610 


14,601 


12.9 


Cattaraugus 


71,323 


7,196 


10.1 


Cayuga 


65,221 


9,488 


14.5 


Chautauqua 


115,348 


23,038 


20.0 


Chemung 


65,872 


5,915 


9.0 


Chenango 


34,969 


1,734 


5.0 


Clinton 


43,898 


4,010 


9.1 


Columbia 


38,930 


4,307 


11.1 


Cortland 


29,625 


2,015 


6.8 


Delaware 


42,774 


2,084 


4.9 


Dutchess 


91,747 


12,465 


13.6 


Erie 


634,688 


147,309 


23.2 


Essex 


31,871 


2,571 


8.1 


Franklin 


43,541 


4,532 


10.4 


Fulton 


44,927 


6,364 


14.2 


Genesee 


37,976 


5,313 


14.0 


Greene 


25,796 


2,033 


7.9 


Hamilton 


3,970 


341 


8.6 


Herkimer 


64,962 


11.102 


17.1 


Jefferson 


82,250 


11,373 


13.8 


Lewis 


23,704 


1,980 


8.4 


Livingston 


36,830 


4,259 


11.6 


Madison 


39,535 


3,246 


8.2 


Monroe 


352,034 


79,491 


22.6 


Montgomery 


57,928 


12,357 


21.3 


Nassau 


126,120 


25,998 


20.6 


Niagara 


118,705 


29,298 


24.7 


Oneida 


182,833 


37,185 


20.3 


Onondaga 


241,465 


41,517 


17.2 


Ontario 


52,652 


6,193 


11.8 


Orange 


119,844 


16,422 


13.7 


Orleans 


28,619 


4,444 


15.5 


Oswego 


71,045 


7,528 


10.6 


Otsego 


46,200 


2,366 


5.1 


Putnam 


10,802 


1,437 


13.3 


Rensselaer 


113,129 


16,002 


14.1 


Rockland 


45,548 


6,961 


15.3 


St. Lawrence 


88,121 


10,848 


12.3 


Saratoga 


60,029 


7,386 


12.3 


Schenectady 


109,363 


23,679 


21.7 


Schoharie 


21,303 


620 


2.9 


Schuyler 


13,098 


662 


5.1 


Seneca 


24,735 


2,932 


11.9 


Steuben 


80,627 


4,776 


5.9 


Suffolk 


110,246 


23,888 


21.7 


Sullivan 


33,163 


5,495 


16.6 


Tioga 


24,212 


1.212 


5.0 


Tompkins 


35,285 


2,660 


7.5 


Ulster 


74,979 


8,043 


10.7 


Warren 


31,673 


2,431 


7.7 


Washington 


44,888 


4,213 


9.4 


Wayne 


48,827 


6,634 


13.6 


Westchester 


344,436 


80,005 


23.2 


Wyoming 


30,314 


2,669 


8.8 


Yates 


16,641 


1,150 


6.9 


Totals 


10,385,227 


2,786,112 


26.8 



1 These five counties comprise the city of Greater New York. 
270 



Table 45. — Illiterate Adults in New York State 

(By Counties, Census 1920) 





Illiterate, Twenty-one 


Years of Age and Over 










Number in Union Free and 






Number in Cities 


Common 


School Districts 


Name of 
County 


Number in 
County 


and Villages, 
2500 Population 
and Over, Under 


Under District Superintendent 




2500 


Under 








Superintendent 


Population 


2500 


Total 






of Schools 


and Over 


Population 




New York 


137,537 


137,537 








Bronx 1 


25,822 


25.822 










Kings 


96,022 


96,022 










Richmond 


3,605 


3.605 










Queens 


12,092 


12,092 










Albany 


5,028 


4,397 






631 


631 


Allegany 


193 


17 






176 


176 


Broome 


2,379 


2,027 






352 


352 


Cattaraugus 


1,341 


782 


129 


430 


559 


Cayuga 


1.666 


1,369 






297 


Chautauqua 


3.679 


2,851 


223 


605 


828 


Chemung 


1,117 


808 


162 


147 


309 


Chenango 


372 


178 




194 


194 


Clinton 


2,822 


623 


65 


2,134 


2,199 


Columbia 


1,275 


741 


19 


515 


534 


Cortland 


477 


304 




173 


173 


Delaware 


481 




93 


388 


481 


Dutchess 


2,613 


1,590 


129 


894 


1,023 


Erie 


21,147 


18.928 


67 


2,152 


2,219 


Essex 


1,119 






1,119 


1,119 


Franklin 


2,717 


404 


131 


2,182 


2,313 


Fulton 


978 


653 




325 


325 


Genesee 


1,275 


930 




345 


345 


Greene 


565 


144 




421 


421 


Hamilton 


98 






98 


98 


Herkimer 


2,093 


1.510 


61 


522 


583 


Jefferson 


1.444 


742 


135 


567 


702 


Lewis 


537 




33 


504 


537 


Livingston 


1,392 


"79 


659 


654 


1.313 


Madison 


749 


240 


275 


234 


509 


Monroe 


11,402 


10,750 


22 


630 


652 


Montgomery 


2,594 


1,979 


112 


503 


615 


Nassau 


4,330 


1,013 


98 


3,219 


3,317 


Niagara 


4,627 


4,209 


88 


330 


418 


Oneida 


8,093 


6.568 


26 


1,499 


1,525 


Onondaga 


6,911 


5,730 


124 


1,057 


1,181 


Ontario 


1.086 


652 




434 


434 


Orange 


3,675 


1,915 


87 


1,673 


1,760 


Orleans 


732 


418 




314 


314 


Oswego 


1,458 


1,061 




397 


397 


Otsego 


381 


145 


27 


209 


236 


Putnam 


298 






298 


298 


Rensselaer 


2,355 


1,899 




456 


456 


Rockland 


1,300 


587 


100 


613 


713 


St. Lawrence 


2,819 


1,133 


142 


1,544 


1.686 


Saratoga 


1,809 


769 


164 


876 


1.040 


Schenectady 


3,858 


3,552 




306 


306 


Schoharie 


310 






310 


310 


Schuyler 


81 




"7 


74 


81 


Seneca 


666 


136 


63 


467 


530 


Steuben 


1,046 


566 


80 


400 


480 


Suffolk 


3,173 


98 


383 


2,692 


3,075 


Sullivan 


658 






658 


658 


Tioga 


210 


"57 




153 


153 


Tompkins 


343 


198 




145 


145 


Ulster 


2,284 


467 


148 


1,669 


1,817 


Warren 


642 


360 




282 


282 


Washington 


1,020 


371 


220 


429 


649 


Wayne 


1,659 


547 


434 


678 


1.112 


Westchester 


12.532 


9,966 


795 


1,771 


2,566 


Wyoming 


267 


41 


12 


214 


226 


Yates 


105 


43 




62 


62 


Totals 


415,359 


369,625 


5,313 


40.421 


45.734 



1 These five counties comprise the city of Greater New York. 
271 



education in each of the 62 counties of New York state are indicated by 
Table 44, compiled from the Federal census of 1920. 

Table 44 shows that, in 1920, there were 2,786,112 foreign-born white 
persons in New York state, this number being 26.8 percent of the total 
population. In 15 of the 64 counties the foreign-born whites constituted 
20 percent or more of the population, the proportion ranging from 20 
percent in Chautauqua County to 40.4 percent in New York County 
(Manhattan). 

Table 45 shows that in 1920 there were 415,359 illiterate persons 
twenty-one years of age and over in New York state, and that of this 
number 45,734, or 11 percent, were in common and union free school 
districts under district superintendents. While some of these were in 
the larger communities in the supervisory districts, 40,421 were in com- 
munities whose population was 2500 or less. 

"Illiterates," as used in the census reports, means persons who could 
not write, this including practically all those who could not read. People 
who were literate in their native language but who could not speak 
English were not included in these numbers. If we were to include the 
literate persons who could not speak English, it is probable that it would 
be no exaggeration to estimate the illiterate and non-English-speaking 
adults in the common and union free school districts of the state as 
amounting to 70,000 or 80,000. 

Many of these illiterate and non-English-speaking adults in the super- 
visory districts are known to be eager for the opportunity to learn English, 
but the small sums of money necessary to conduct the classes are difficult 
to secure. It is reasonable to believe that, with a large taxing unit, 
classes in elementary English and citizenship would be provided, thus 
furnishing equal opportunity for children and parents of foreign birth to 
Americanize themselves through learning English and studying American 
government in the public school. 



272 



SURVEY OF NEW YORK STATE 
RURAL SCHOOLS 

1 he survey was organized with the following sections 
and directors: 

Administration and Supervision. C. H. Judd. 

School Support. Harlan Updegraff. 

Teachers and Courses of Study. W. C. Bagley. 

School Buildings. J. E. Butterworth. 

Measuring the Work of the Schools. M. E. Haggerty. 

Community Relations. Mabel Carney. 

The results of the studies conducted by these directors 
and their associates have been embodied in a series of 
reports. The approximate dates at which these will be 
available for distribution are: 

Volume I. Rural School Survey of New York State. 

(Preliminary Report) May, 1922. 
Volume II. Administration and Supervision, October, 1922. 

The District System. Shelby. 

The Supervisory District. Brooks. 

The Community Unit. Works. 

Principles of Administration. Bobbitt. 

The State System of Examinations. Kruse. 

Health Education. Peterson. 

The State Schools of Agriculture. Holton. 

Junior Extension. Holton. 

Summary and Recommendations. Judd. 
Volume III. School Support. Updegraff. August, 1922. 
Volume IV. Teachers and Teacher Preparation. Bagley. 
September, 1922. 

Elementary School Curriculum. Brim. 

Community Relations. Carney. 
Volume V. School Buildings. Butterworth. June, 1922. 
Volume VI. The Educational Product. Haggerty. July, 1922. 
Volume VII. The Rural High Schools. Ferriss. August, 1922. 
(The administrative features of the high school 

were studied in cooperation with Dr. Judd, while 

teachers and curricula were developed under the 

general direction of Dr. Bagley.) 
Volume VIII. Vocational Education. Eaton. July, 1922. 

(Prepared under the direction of Dr. Bagley.) 



These volumes may be obtained at seventy-five cents each, post- 
paid, except Volume II, on Administration and Supervision, which 
will be one dollar. Only a limited edition will be printed and those 
wishing to make certain of securing copies may place their orders at 
any time. 

Joint Committee on Rural Schools, 
Ithaca, N. Y. 







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